Secrets, Obsessions,and Pranks?
by Siriusly
Summary: James likes Lily. Lily hates James. Or does she? And in all the crossfire can Remus and Sirius find girls of their own? Fairly original I hope. Please RR Chap 20 finally up!
1. Rights after Snapes worst memory

Lily stormed into the Gryffindor common room and slammed her books down. Most people were too self involved to notice but her friend looked up anxiously. 

"Lils, what the heck was that about?" the girl of about 16 asked.

"That James Potter thinks he's so great." Lily started her rant.

"Lils?"

"and I mean really he's not..."

"OK just calm down a sec.."

"I mean he's arrogant and annoying and and.." her friend was about to hit her with a book when she finally stopped. "Cad, what?"

"What's got you going off on James now?" an annoyed Cad asked.

"Oh Cad, I'm sorry, it's just he's so, grrr.." Cad rolled her eyes as Lily growled in frustration. 

"Trust me, I know. But he can be really great too."

"I don't know what you ever saw him"

"Look we went out, he was great, I got over it. But I still think you're being a little hard on him." Cad pleaded.

"Maybe you should go join the Potter fan club, being as you're not right in the head."

"You know what Lily, You're mad at him, don't take it out on me."

"Whatever." Lily groaned as she collapsed in a chair.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Seriously, dude, why her?" a 16 year old Sirius questioned.

"I don't know, she's the only girl who, you know..." 

"Doesn't fall head over heals when you walk in a room?" Remus finished James' sentence. 

"I mean she hates me!" James said almost laughing. "and Sirius, what about you and what's her face?"

"Who?" a suddenly alert Sirius answered.

"You know that girl.."

"Stacy?" Sirius was starting to get annoyed with James' vagueness. 

"no..."

"Liv?"

"Try again."

"err.."

"Taylor! Lily's friend!" James stated aggravated. 

"I don't know.." Sirius trailed off

"aww c'mon what's not to like?"

"um, well, how about the fact that you only want us to hook up because she _is _Lily's friend?" Sirius answered sarcastically.

"You guys are both mental." Remus piped in looking up from a book he was reading while he ate.

"So Prongs, what are you gonna do to get Evans' attention?" Peter finally spoke. 

"Well, I could use a couple of my secret weapons." James tempted. 

"Oh don't stop there. Go on. Humor us." Sirius laughed.

"Well, you know Cad..." James trailed off.

"Didn't you kind of break her heart?" Remus asked.

"No, well, I mean, we're becoming friends again, and... besides old Moony's gonna help too." Sirius fit in.

The water Remus had been drinking flew across the room, dousing Sirius.

"Hey!" Sirius complained.

"How did I get involved?" Remus questioned.

"C'mon everyone knows you've got that whole sweet guy thing going, you could totally get Lily to like me." James pleaded.

"And how does Cad fit in?"

"Well, Cad gets her to tolerate me, and then you swoop in and say what a great guy I am." James said smartly. "Evans will be at my side in no time."

Remus sighed but knew he was in trouble. James had done so much for him, what could he do?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The four boys entered the Gryffindor common room only to find exactly who they were looking for. Sirius, Remus, and Peter reluctantly went, and left James to his business.

"Cadence?" He asked slyly.

One simple name got the desired effect. The tall, beautiful blonde stopped dead in her tracks. "You know you're the only person I don't hex for calling me that." She turned around smiling. 

"Yeah I know."

"So what the hell did you do to piss Evans off?" Cad asked as she walked over to James.

"Ahh. Exactly the reason I wanted to talk to you."

"No way Potter." Cad said backing away.

"What?" after realizing his not-so-innocent look wasn't working he gave in. "Aw c'mon all you have to do is put in a good word."

"Face it Potter, you don't have a chance." Cad answered coyly.

James gave her one of his trademark looks and she, like Remus, couldn't say no.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Remus Lupin sat in the boys dormitory. He could hear Sirius messing with Peter and he even noticed James walk in with a look of victory on his face. But he couldn't get what James said off his mind. _"Everyone knows you've got that sweet guy thing going.."_ Did he really have everyone fooled? How could they think he was so sweet? God, if they only knew...

"Earth to Moony" Sirius said as he flung a ball he'd been tossing around at him. He was brought back to Earth.

"Oh, sorry, what were you saying?"

"Me and Prongs are going to Hogsmeade tonight. We figured you could ditch Peter and talk to Evans."

Remus still not believing what he had agreed to do, nodded.

"Whoa, man, you are out of it." Sirius remarked. "Sure you're up to Evans?"

"Yeah, no problem." Remus said with a hint of sarcasm that was lost on his friend.

"Cool. Ok. I'm meeting James I'll see you later."

Remus made his way down to the common room figuring he might as well get his task out of the way.

"Hey Evans are you ok?" If he was going to be sweet he might as well do it right.

"What do you want Remus?" Lily asked angrily.

"I just wanted to know if you were ok, you know, after what Snape said earlier.

"Since when do you care?" She answer in a softer tone.

"Why wouldn't I care?" He looked into her eyes and could feel her giving in.

"I'm fine, it's just.....Potter asked you to talk to me didn't he?"

Caught off guard, Remus decided to be semi-truthful. "Yes, but that's not why I'm talking to you, I mean, I don't do everything Potter says."

"um, okay" Lily answered feeling a little guilty. "It's just that between Potter and Snape I don't know who's more of a jerk."

"Snape obviously." Remus could swear he saw her smile and relaxed a little. "I mean sure James can be a prat, but he's a great friend." 

"Yeah, well I never see that side of him." 

"Oh sure. That's just because he's always to busy showing off. He likes you." He pleaded.

"Why me? There are tons of other girls who would easily fall for him." Lily said getting angry again. 

"I don't know. Maybe he only wants what he can't have?"

"Well that's James, thinking he can have anything he wants." Lily got up to leave.

"Can I tell him you said anything?" Remus asked hopefully.

Lily's expression became pained before saying "Just tell him to leave me alone. See you later."

"Bye, Lily." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

As Remus was heading back to the dormitory, James and Sirius were returning from Hogsmeade. They had made the trip hundreds of times before, but they still got a kick out of breaking the rules. By the time they returned, Remus was fast asleep and Peter was nowhere to be found. 

"Wow. Evans must have put him to bed." Sirius joked, "Argh!" Sirius got pelted with a pillow by James. "Aw. How sweet. Sticking up for your girl?" Sirius grabbed a pillow of his own and before long Remus had woken up and joined the fight.

"Ok. Ok." James muttered trying to catch his breath. "We should stop."

"Wuss." Sirius said as he passed out on his bed. "Big old Quidditch star can't keep up?"

It took all of James effort to send the last pillow hurling at Sirius' head. {He missed by about five feet.} After the three boys had calmed down James asked the question Remus least wanted to hear. "So. How'd things go with Lily?"

Remus hated to bring any hopes his friend might have down, but still answered truthfully. "Prongs, you know she doesn't like you."

"That's what she says. But I mean, c'mon, she had nothing to say about me?" 

"Err-"

"No _"He really is a sweet guy." _or _"His god-like good looks make me weak in the knees." _or possibly _"Watching him play Quidditch brings new meaning to my other wise dull life?"_" he asked hopefully.

"Damn. What girls have you been talking to?" Sirius spoke for the first time.

"James, she said to just leave her alone." Remus said quietly. 

"Oh. Well, that's ok." The look on James' face told all the boys needed to know. "Well it's late I'm gonna go to bed."

"Pro-" Remus started before he was cut off,

"Really, it's okay."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Wake up!" Lily was jolted awake by her best friend, Cad. She opened her eyes to see three fully awake girls getting ready. "Ugg-"

"C'mon! We've got to get to breakfast!." An overly cheerful Cad suggested. Lily slowly peeled herself our of bed and headed toward the shower. As she was doing this Cad made her way down to the common room to wait for her friends. The room was deserted except for Remus Lupin. She made her way over and sat in the chair across from him. "Hey."

Remus looked up from the book he was reading. "Oh, hey Cad. What's up?"

"Oh nothing. Hey I saw you talking to Lily last night. Did James ask you to talk to her too?" 

"Oh yeah. What's he having you do?"

"Same. I'm surprised though. Two people talking to Lily seems a little passive for James. You'd think he'd have some elaborate plan to win her over." Cad contemplated. 

"Yeah." It had just registered in his mind that that was what James was doing. "Well, I better go wake up the guys. I'll see you later."

"Ok. Bye." Cad couldn't help but think that she was a little sad to see him go. She didn't have time to dwell on it though, because her friends had chosen that moment to make their entrance. Her three best friends slowly made their way over to her. Lily seemed to be in her own world, she was like that a lot lately; and her other two friends, Taylor and Blair, were talking animatedly. The girls made their way to breakfast. Cad still couldn't help but dwell on the Evans/ Potter situation, but at least she knew she wasn't the only one.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"You git!" Remus bust into the dormitory. The three boys who had previously been sleeping were awakened with a jolt.

"What the heck, mate" Sirius murmured. Remus ignored him and went straight over to James' bed. 

"You moron! You can not use me like some Friggin' pawn!" He screamed.

"Huh?" James wasn't exactly a morning person.

"You're using me to get to Lily!"

"Well, duh. You were supposed to talk to her." James was now more awake.

"Yeah. I know but I just had a conversation with Cad that made things a little more clear."

"What did Cad say?" James was starting to get a little annoyed.

"She said she was surprised you didn't have some big plan to win Lily over. And then I realized she was right. But then it hit me, of course you have a plan."

"I have a plan?" James asked.

"You're trying to get me to hook up with Cad. You already tried to do it to Sirius and Taylor. What am I just next in line?" James was starting to look slightly uncomfortable. "You figure she'd be forced to be with you and then you can play all sweet. And then be mister supportive when something happened!"

"Well, um-" James was having trouble coming up with something to say that would calm his friend down. "Damn. You really connected the dots quickly."

"Huh?" It was Remus' turn to be confused.

"You did it quickly. Figured it all out I mean. But what's so wrong? I mean you might really like Cad."

"Potter, that's not the point."

"Look, I'm sorry. It's just I really like Lily, and I thought this was the best way for her to get to see me and what I am, not the prat she thinks I am." It felt weird to James to have to win over one of his best friends. 

"Ugg. I know. Just, you know, ask me next time, Ok?" Moony gave in like everyone else when it came to James. He had a way with people.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 


	2. Hogsmeade

Disclaimer- Hey! I obviously don't own anything you recognize from the books. Please read and review!

Slowly the Marauders got ready and made their way to breakfast. James took the lead as usual and the sat unsurprisingly close to Lily and her friends. "Morning girls." James brightly said, the most awake he'd been all morning. "Morning." all but Lily replied. 

"So what are you guys up to today?" Taylor asked. Taylor was perfect for Sirius. James saw it. She had every single quality Sirius liked in a girl. Well, she would if Sirius ever decided to start being picky, James thought. "You girls up for a little fun?" Sirius answered. "What did you have in mind?" Blair, the self proclaimed bad girl of the bunch answered. "Wouldn't you like to know." Sirius responded coyly. "Just meet us in the common room in half an hour." James took over the conversation. And with that all four boys left, leaving the girls to wonder what kind of trouble they were about to get in. 

The Marauders returned to their dormitory to get ready to go. While Peter, Sirius, and Remus fixed their hair, James just made his even more untidy. They gave him a look and he stopped. "Where are we gonna go?" Peter asked stupidly. "Duh. Hogsmeade." Sirius answered nonchalantly. 

Meanwhile the girls were busy doing themselves up. "I don't see what all the fuss is. You guys are just going with the guys." Lily said cynically. "What do you mean us? You're going to." Blair answered while fixing her make up. "Not if Potter's going to be there." "Lily, you can't not do something just because he's there. You can at least try to be civil. Besides what are you going to do? Sit here alone?" Cad piped in as if she had rehearsed every word. "I guess you're right." Lily gave in. 

They decided to go in pairs to the passageway they would use to leave. James was a bit upset when Lily clamped on to Remus' arm before he got a chance to pair up with her. Undoubtedly that had been her plan. Instead he was paired up with Cad. Sirius was with Taylor, Peter with Blair. When they all were in the passageway they started the long decent into Hogsmeade. Both Lily and James were uncharacteristically quiet.

When they finally arrived, Sirius announced that he and Taylor would be going their separate ways. Peter, never very quick on the uptake, decided to tag along. Lily became their fourth as Sirius rolled his eyes. He was obviously hoping to be alone with Taylor. "Well, I guess that just leaves us." James said laughing. "Where to?"

"Oh, I don't know. We could just you know, walk around a bit." Blair answered suggestively. "Sounds good to me." Everyone nodded their heads in agreement. They walked past all the stores and finally stopped when they reached the infamous Shrieking Shack. Remus shot James a look of worry when he realized where they were stopping. 

Blair moved closer to James pretending to be scared. Never one to back away from a piece of tail James played along. "You know they say it's the most haunted house in Britain." he said with one of his smiles. The look on Remus' face was enough to make him burst out laughing, but since he was playing mister cool, he was forced to hold it in. "You know I don't think it's scary at all." Cad said out of nowhere. "I mean they're just ghosts, I think it's more intriguing." She shot Remus a smile. Instead of making him more relaxed, it had the opposite effect. Did she know? Had James told her? 

"Wow. We better get going if we're going to meet the others at the Three Broomsticks." James said almost as if on cue. "Yeah. Let's go." Remus replied eager to get away from the house. The four others had already gotten a table by the time they arrived. Taylor was sitting closer than normal to Sirius and he had a look of triumph on his face. Peter looked the same as usual, and James couldn't help but laugh at the annoyed look on Lily's face. "Have fun?" James asked Sirius rhetorically. This time James got it right, positioning himself directly across from Lily. "Hey Evans." He said sincerely. Remembering her promise to be civil she welcomed him with a nod.

"So how do you think you did on your exams?" James said trying to get Lily to talk. This was one of the few times Lily had ever actually gotten to have a conversation with James that didn't start with a lame pick up line. She decided to take advantage of the opportunity and have a real talk with him. "Pretty good, probably. Transfiguration was a little difficult but not bad. How about you?" "Same I guess." James answered earnestly. "In a way I'm kind of glad it's summer." This one comment really got Lily to open up. "Well, you would be. You don't have to go home to muggles." James could see he had hit a sore spot and was unexpectedly at lost of words. "Er-" but she cut him off. "I mean, my sister makes my life miserable, I seriously think she hates me. Do you have any siblings?" Taken aback by her sudden openness, It took him a moment to answer. "Um, well, no, but good old Moony and Padfoot are practically brothers." She smiled "You're lucky, trust me. I wish I was an only child." They spent the rest of the afternoon talking. Lily was happy to be able to talk to him. James was just happy that she was talking to him. 

Finally realizing the time, James decided it was time to head back. Lily started talking to Cad leaving James with Blair. He talked with her for the rest of the trip and somehow ended up paired up with her to exit the passageway. James couldn't help but notice that even Lily looked a bit upset as she started off with Remus. James and Blair were the last two to leave. As they were leaving James noticed a small earring on the ground. As he went to pick it up Blair made a move toward him. Startled James froze. "You know I've always liked you." Blair said seductively. Before James could respond Blair kissed him. But a sudden movement distracted them. "Don't mind me Potter. Dropped my earring." a obviously angry Lily said. She turn and ran out before James could answer. "Aw. Shit!" James cursed before running off after her, but it was too late. She was gone. 

A/N- hey- I really hope to continue this story. If I get enough review I will. If I continue there will definitely be development with everything Lupin has been thinking! Please Review! 


	3. The aftermath

disclaimer- I don't own anything that belongs to J.K. Please R+R!

The boys sat in the dormitory in major disbelief. "You prat!" "You git!" "You moron!" and many obscenities were yelled at James before he yelled "I know! God, don't you think I know what I did? I finally get her to talk to me and I screw it all up." "Why did you kiss Blair anyway?" Remus asked. "I didn't she kissed me." "and you just stood there?" "no of course not." "You better pull yourself together, we've got to go to the feast." Sirius said relieving his friend of the inquisition. "Yeah, I know."

Meanwhile, Cad and Taylor were trying to calm Lily down. "He is such a jerk!" "But Lily, it's not like you like him or anything. Right?" Taylor asked. "Err- no. It's just we finally talk and he acts like an ok guy, then he goes and makes out with my friend." Unfortunately for Blair, she chose that moment to walk in. "You Bitch!" the normally passive Lily yelled. Lily stood up and so did Cad and Taylor, ready if they had to stop a fight. "What the hell?" Blair said defensively. "Why the heck did you make out with James?" "We did not make out. It was just a kiss. And I, unlike someone else I know, like him and don't treat him like dirt." "You know what? You're right. I don't like him." and with that Lily stormed out with Taylor and Cad chasing after her awkwardly. 

The end of term feast was a disaster. Lily refused to even look at James and scoffed when the headmaster brought up Gryffindor winning the Quidditch Cup. James was so depressed he didn't even eat. After the feast, both returned to their dormitories. James actually packed, which was odd considering he was notoriously a procrastinator. Lily laid on her bed crying. She didn't really like him did she? He had so many qualities that she hated. Yet somehow.... Lily drifted into an uneasy sleep, the first of what would be many. James too was asleep when his friends found him. With nothing better to do, Sirius and Peter both went to sleep as well. Remus, however, decided to return to the common room and read {"But the terms over!"}.

Remus spent many nights reading by the fire. It was his special place in the school, but when he got there he found it already taken. "Cad?" "Oh hey Remus." the pretty blonde smiled wide as he took the seat across from her. "You're the lone reader too?" she asked sarcastically. "Yeah." he answered returning her smile. "Quite a day. huh?" Cad said closing her book. "Tell me about it" he said as he tossed his aside too. "I can't believe how stupid James was." "You know it doesn't really seem to like him. I mean he didn't do anything like that while I was dating him did he?" Cad asked fearful that her worst thought would prove true. "No, he never wanted to hurt you. And your right it doesn't seem like him." "See I know that, and you know that but Lily--" a relieved Cad trailed off. "I didn't even think she liked him." Remus thought out loud. "I don't even know if she knows." They both laughed but stopped when they caught each others eyes. Remus decided to put himself out there. "Um. Cad." "Yeah?" "Would, Would it be okay if I, you know," he hesitated, "owl you over the summer?" She smiled brightly "I would really like that." Remus was so happy. The two talked until the early hours of morning. And while Lily and James' chance might have been ruined, he couldn't help but think that his was never looking better.

Morning came too soon for Remus and he was jolted awake by an over excited Sirius falling on his bed. "C'mon you're usually the first up!" "Ugg.." "Dang, how late were you up?" "Not very he lied." When they were all finally ready to go they made their way down to where they would catch the train. James stopped at the Owlry, and told his friends that he'd meet them there. Upon entering he saw a certain redhead who had never wanted less to do with him.

"Err- Lily?" He had startled her and she jumped a little. "Can I talk to you?" she sighed "Make it quick Potter, I have to meet my friends." he couldn't help but notice how hollow her voice sounded. "Look, Lily, I'm really sorry if I hurt you. I'm sure you find this even harder believe now but I really like you-" "No you don't." Lily interrupted "Look we talked, and it was the first time we actually did without you hitting on me constantly. And I'm sorry but I thought we could be friends. But I realized that I don't need someone in my life who's going to say he likes me and then kiss my friend!" she shouted as if she had been waiting to get that off of her chest. "God, Lily," James started as he lost his cool, "I said I'm sorry, and she kissed me. Do you think I wouldn't take that back if I could?" "Don't yell at me." she said near tears. "Lily," he softened his tone, "I like you, and if I can't have you as a girlfriend-- I'd rather be your friend than not be in your life at all." Lily didn't respond. "I'm going." He grabbed his owl and went to meet everyone at the train. 

Somehow their friends had managed to save one whole compartment for themselves.{James suspected trickery thanks to Sirius but didn't say anything.} Lily sat on one end and James the other. Peter played a game with Blair who surprisingly was still willing to be around after Lily's rage. Not surprisingly Sirius and Taylor were a little busy keeping to themselves. Cad and Remus were trying to at least get Lily and James to talk to each other, both unaware of their confrontation. "Lily I know he's sorry." Remus pleaded and "C'mon James, why are you mad?" from a confused Cad. As the train ride came to an end James started regretting wasting all the time he could have had with her had they not been so stubborn. Once off the train James seized an opportunity. Lily was over greeting her parents. He walked over, "Mr. and Mrs. Evans?" they looked up and Lily turned around with a look of terror on her face. "Hi. I'm James Potter I'm a friend of Lily's. I was just wondering if I could steal her away from you for just a moment?" James said turning on his "parent charm". "Of course." James took Lily by the arm and walked her off a few feet. "What's the meaning of this Potter?" Lily said sweetly. {Her parents were still close enough to hear, as was James' plan} "I was just wondering if I could owl you, you know like friends do." "Sure, I can't wait" Lily added with a sarcasm caught by James but lost on her parents. He then kissed her on the cheek on walked away, knowing that he was leaving a very pissed off "friend." 

A/N- Hey I have something really cool planned for the summer but I won't post if I don't get reviews! Please review!


	4. Summer lovin'

Disclaimer- I don't own anything that J.K. does.

A/N- Thanks to everyone that reviewed you really made my day. I hope you like the story. I have about eight chapters written so far, but am always open to suggestions and rewrites. Enjoy and please keep reviewing! 

Sirius, who was staying with James over the summer, doubled over laughing as James told him about how he managed to get permission to owl Lily. "Mate, combine that with the whole kissing Blair thing and you haven't got a chance." Sirius laughed, but stopped when he saw that look on James' face. "What's wrong?" James proceeded to tell him about his and Lily's confrontation in the Owlry. "And the worst part is she made it sound like she might actually have liked me. God, she was so hurt and I yelled at her." James shook his head. "She's right. I am a jerk." "Well, you know I didn't want to say anything but.." Sirius joked trying to lighten the mood. James playfully hit him on the shoulder as his spirits rose a bit. "Well, it's summer. What do you want to do?"

The days drifted by, it had been a week and James still hadn't owled Lily. Soon one week turned to two, two to three. On a particularly hot night James couldn't sleep. He finally gave in and decided to write to Lily. _Dear Lily, _He scratched it out. _Dear Evans? Dearest Lily? _He finally decided to go back to his first choice. He found that once he started writing the words just seemed to come. 

_Dear Lily,_

Hey, um, How's ur summer going? Mine's good, I guess. Sirius is 

staying with me, so that's cool. Well, I know that you're probably still 

mad at me. I've thought a lot over the last few weeks. {Right now you're more than likely thinking that's a first.} I really miss you, and I know you don't miss me and that hurts. I'm sorry for hurting you. I was a jerk. Please write back. Even if you're just going to yell at me, I'd be great to hear from you. 

~James~

He laughed looking at the letter. This was definitely something Sirius should never see. He'd be teased for months. With a bit of hesitation, he woke his owl and soon his letter was on its way to the girl he liked, maybe even loved. Apparently writing that letter was the therapy he needed. He drifted into a blissful sleep. 

Remus was having problems too. He wanted nothing more than to write Cad. James was right, he did really like her. He had never gotten to close to a girl before. Sure he had the occasional girlfriend, but nothing serious. In a way James was also right about him being sweet. He never wanted to hurt a girl. He always broke things off before they could get too close. His friends were the exception. James, Peter, and Sirius had discovered his secret and didn't desert him. If anything it brought them closer together. He didn't know if anyone one else could be that understanding. But at the same time he saw James' infatuation with Lily, and Sirius hoping from one girl to the next, even Peter had an occasional fling. He wanted to be a normal teenager. He wanted to love someone and have them love him back. As the summer flew by he yearned more and more to write Cad. Finally, a few days before those dreaded days of the month, he gave in. He sat down and awkwardly began to write. 

_Dear Cad,_

I hope you're having a great summer. Mine's okay. I haven't done much, hung out with James and Sirius a couple of days, but that's all really. They're both good, James is still pining for Lily, and Sirius is, well, Sirius. Did you get your OWL results? I did quite well. I'm sure you did better, though. The results didn't help much. I still have no clue what I want to do after Hogwarts. How about you? Well, I hope to hear back from you. Talk to you soon,

Remus

Looking his letter over he realized that it was a bit awkward, but sent it anyway. And with that, he too drifted to sleep.

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Lily Evans awoke to screams. She immediately knew why. Rushing down stairs she saw her mother hunched in a corner while an owl sat nibbling on the toast she had set out. Who's owl would be stupid enough to go through the kitchen? All of her friends owl's knew to go through her bedroom window {unfortunately they learned through experiences that didn't seem to faze this overly confident bird}. She quickly apologized to her mum and took the letter off the birds leg. As the bird left, her mother regained her composure and started in on Lily. {"You know I'm terrified of birds!" "No more letters better come"} Lily shrugged it off and went back to her room, thinking that this letter better be worth the trouble it had caused. Her eyes went straight to the name and knew it wasn't. "James?" she said under her breath. This was the one letter she was looking forward to least. She scanned the letter quickly. 

"Of course he's sorry!" Lily realized she had said a little too loudly as she heard her sister stir. "I'm sorry too." she added in a much softer tone. She didn't want to date James Potter. She even had acquired a boyfriend that she really liked. But she couldn't help but like James, in a friendly sort of way, of course. She threw the letter on her desk and went back to bed. She had been losing a lot of sleep, and before long she was awake again. She walked over to her desk and briefly considered answering James' letter, before she threw it back down and went to get breakfast.

Cad was much happier to receive her letter. She had been waiting to hear from Remus, and as the weeks passed her hopes were pretty much shot. She really liked him, and thought he might like her. She couldn't help but think he was pulling away though. She had dated a lot of guys, even James, who most girls sought after. But Remus was different. He was kind, and talkative, yet he could be shy too. Over the years she had seen him break out of shell more and more. He was the kind of guy you could have honest, intelligent conversations with, and not be afraid to have an opinion of your own. She smiled at the thought of him. She found some parchment and a quill and quickly began to write back.

_Dear Remus, _

Hi! It's great to hear from you! I am having a great summer and its good to hear that you are too. I did pretty good on my OWLs. I'm sure you did as well if not better though. I have given a lot of though to what I want to do, actually. It's pretty much between being an auror, or what I'm leaning toward, a teacher. Both helping protect people and teaching students appeals to me. I'm sure you'll find something that you're passionate about too. So, James is still head over heals for Lily? That's almost sad. Lily gets angry if we even mention him. She has a new boyfriend too. He's, like, the exact opposite of James. He's quiet, and shy, a muggle, and, well, a bit boring. Oh, I almost forgot, You know Taylor? I think she's a bit keen on Sirius. Ever since those last few days of school he's all she talks about! It's really funny, because Lily hates it. It'd be really great if we could get everyone together before school, don't you think? Well, I've got to go, but I hope you write again,

*Cadence*

She felt a little weird signing her full name, but thought it was more personal. She sent the letter and started getting ready to go. She was meeting Lily to go shopping. After a quick shower, she blow dried her hair. She was starting to adjust to having to do it manually again after learning how to do it magically. She stared at her long, straight, blonde hair for five minutes before deciding to braid it. The letter from Remus had her a little spacey. She chose out a wholesome looking skirt {as wholesome as a mini can look} and tank top. She quickly did her make up and left. She had just acquired her drivers license and loved to drive. That was the one thing she missed in the wizarding world. After driving half an hour she spotted Lily in front of the mall with, much to her dismay, her boyfriend. 

She parked and went over to her best friend who greeted her with a hug. "Hi. Max." Cad tried sounding as happy as possible but must have failed because Lily added, "He really wanted to come." pleadingly. They wandered around the mall, the girls shopping and Max watching awkwardly. While Max was looking at video games, Lily took the opportunity to tell Cad about her letter from James. "I just, I don't know what he expects from me." she finished earnestly. "Well, did you write him back?" "No, not yet." Cad gave her a look and Lily answered, "But I will!" Max came back and the girls quickly shifted the conversation. 

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	5. Max and the Mall

Disclaimer- I don't own anything you recognize. Please R+R

"Has she written back yet?" Sirius asked James for about the third time that day. It had been three days since James had sent the letter to Lily and she still hadn't written back. "Why don't we go to Hogsmeade or Diagon Alley?" Remus, who was visiting for the week, asked trying to change the subject. "You mean like we've done a thousand times before?" Sirius answered with a look of disgust in his face. "There's got to be something better." "We could do some muggle stuff." Remus suggested. "Maybe." Sirius considered unenthusiastically. They both looked at James who was lost in thought. 

"I guess I really did blow it." he said sadly. "I mean, she doesn't even think enough of me to write a friggin letter." James and Remus could hear the bitterness in his voice. Remus suddenly felt guilty. He hadn't even told his friends about his letter to Cad. It seemed unfair to him to show his happiness at her return letter, when James was so obviously in pain. Almost as if he could read his mind James spoke, "Did anything ever happen with you and Cad after that one night?" Remus didn't want to lie to his friend. "I sent her a letter." Sirius perked up. "And?" "and she wrote me back, and I think I like her." Remus said quietly. "Good for you Moony." As expected there was a hollowness in James voice as he said this. 

Sensing the tension Sirius once again diverted the conversation. "So what are we going to do?" Both eager to talk about something new James and Remus each had suggestions. In the end they decided to go a muggle mall. No one was to excited about the idea, but at least it was a change of scenery. They got in James' mum's car and were on there way. After about thirty minutes of driving they arrived. They started going through the small shops and started having fun. Trying on muggle clothes was always great entertainment for the trio. They tried on weird assortments of outfits, hats, shoes 4 sizes too large, and Sirius ventured into a dress and heels. The sales people thought they were crazy, but after the dress the got a little agitated and "suggested" the boys left the store. They headed toward the food court a lot happier than they had been earlier in the day.

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Cad sat in Lily's living room counting the tiles on the floor. She was just that bored. She looked across from her to see Lily's boyfriend Max gazing into space. They were waiting on Lily. Lily had always taken longer to get ready than Cad, but when Max was around, she took even longer. Cad got up and examined herself in the mirror. Dark denim flairs, an old football jersey, her normal straight her was curled, a pair of Nike's, a little bit of make-up, and a dab of lip gloss. She thought she looked fine, and it only took her 10 minutes to get ready. Lily was finally ready. She was a little too done up for a trip to the mall. But Lily was thought it was well worth it when her boyfriend was speechless. "Finally. Let's go." Cad stated agitatedly. 

The drive was no better for Cad. She drove while Lily and Max snogged in the back seat. It had been like this almost everyday of the summer. Cad had excepted the fact that she had to be around Max if she wanted to be with her best friend. So when the arrived at the mall Cad was more than happy the drive was over. At least they kept the PDA's to a minimum while in public. The mall was a ways away from Lily's house so they headed to the food court first to get some lunch. What Cad saw made her heart leap and her stomach flutter. Sitting twenty feet away, engaged in conversation with two of his best friends was Remus. Over the last few days they had written back and forth and she was really starting to fall for him. Lily wasn't as happy as she noticed James. She inched, if possible, even closer to Max and whispered, "You know Cad, I'm not that hungry let's just shop." Too late. Cad had already started walking toward the boys, leaving Lily to unwillingly follow. 

"Sirius that dress was so you" Remus said not even attempting to hold back his laughter. "Too bad we..." Remus trailed off as he saw a tall blonde out of the corner off his eye. James and Sirius turned to look and smiled as they saw the trio that was approaching them. James smile quickly turned to a frown as he saw the guy attached to Lily. "Cad!" Remus jumped up a bit awkwardly and started to hug her, but at the last minute stopped and just sort of stood there. Looking to his best friends for help he simply said "um, good to see you." Cad feeling a little upset at his change said hi to everyone.

"Who's this?" Sirius asked pointing at Max. "My boyfriend, Max." Lily said speaking for the first time. "Max, meet Sirius, Remus, and," she paused when she came to James, "what's your name again?" James obviously upset started to answer but Cad cut him off "James. Remember I dated him a while back?" James upset that Cad had answered for him simply glared at Max. "Why don't you guys join us?" Remus motioned for them to sit. Cad and Max each took a seat. Instead of taking the seat next to Max she sat on his lap, and ignored the surprised Max. "Um, so how do you guys know each other?" Max asked politely. Taking cue Cad answered, "They go to an all boys school near where me and Lily go." The boys realized he was a muggle and nodded their heads to agree. 

The meal was weird. Remus felt a bit insecure around Cad, who was trying to force conversation. James and Sirius were giving Max death stares, but he didn't even notice. Max was too busy with Lily who was suddenly all over him. Cad couldn't even talk to Lily about it because she had a feeling it wasn't exactly a good idea to leave Max alone with the boys. When they had all finished Cad seized the opportunity to have some alone time with Remus. Ignoring the angry looks from Lily she asked Remus to help her find something in a store. He agreed and they left James and Lily to their own problems.

They walked along for a few minutes in silence. Cad decided to speak first. "You know it's really great to see you." "You too." They caught each others eyes and quickly looked away. "So what's the deal with this Max guy?" Remus picked a somewhat safe topic. "Well, Lily met him about a month ago, ironically at the mall, and they've been together ever since." She said matter of factly. "She doesn't usually act like she was though." she added as an after thought. Remus smiled, "Yeah. I had a feeling that was all for James' benefit." "Yeah." After that the conversation flowed freely and they spent a few hours just walking from shop to shop.

The other weren't having as much luck. Sirius had to pull James aside as Max and Lily resumed their snogging on a bench. "Calm down." Sirius said under his breath. "She's just trying to get a rise out of you." "Or him." James answered through gritted teeth. When Max and Lily came up for air they suggested that they head toward a shop. While Lily was trying on an outfit Sirius caught James' eye. Even without saying it he was able to communicate to Sirius what he wanted him to do. "Hey Max come here." Max walked over, only to be lead unwillingly in to a closet by Sirius. Sirius leaned against the door to ensure he would stay there. 

After laughing, James entered the dressing room with out thinking twice. Luckily, Lily was the only one in there. "Lily?" James asked knocking on her door. He entered before she could respond but fortunately she was dressed. "God, James what the hell do you think you're doing!" "I just want to talk to you." "Then talk." she said angrily. "You didn't respond to my letter." he said softly. "Anything I wanted to say to you could wait." she said bitterly. "Lily, I don't want you to be mad at me." he said smiling at her. If possible Lily got even madder. "Sure, just put the blame on me. We're going in circles, James. If being your friend is like this, then" she lowered her voice a little, "I don't even want to try." "Like this?" he questioned. "James you know what I mean, I don't know what you expected but-" a sudden thought entered her mind "Where's Max?" "What?" James responded a bit confused at first. "Max, Where's Max?" "Oh! Err..." "Oh my God! Sirius!" She ran out of the room. 

"Sirius, Where the hell are you?" she charged through the store. Sirius leapt away from the door as she approached. "Oh my God! Max are you okay?" Max started to go at Sirius but Lily held him back. "C'mon Max, lets go find Cad." They left the store. James and Sirius started to follow but thought better of it. 

Cad and Remus were in their own little world. Cad glanced at her watch and saw it was getting late. She had an idea. "Hey Remus?" "Yeah?" "Lets get our picture taken in one of those booths." Remus nodded and they headed toward the nearest one. Cad read the directions. "Perfect it takes 6 pictures" she thought. She started to take out her money but Remus stopped her. "My treat." They climbed in the booth. For the first few pictures they made the traditional funny faces. Then Remus put his arm around her for one. She put her head on his shoulder as the 5 picture was taken. It was now or never. She leaned forward and kissed him. Number 6. They parted and smiled. Remus knew that now was the time for him to say something witty but he just stared at the girl he had just shared this intimate moment with. He finally started to say something but Cad beat him to it. "Our first kiss. I thought it was something to I'd want to remember." Remus smiled and they climbed out of the booth. 

They divvied up the pictures, both with constant smiles on their faces. Remus finally got the nerve to ask something he'd been dying to ask all afternoon, "Cad," "Yeah?" "Do you want to be my girlfriend?" She leaned in and kissed him again. Unfortunately. James and Sirius took that moment to run over. "Moony! We've got to go!" Sirius said quickly as he grabbed his friends wrist. "But-" "We'll explain later." He yelled back to Cad "Can I take that as a yes?" "Yes!" She laughed as she got further and further away. Remus was overjoyed. However he was pulled out of his trance once they reached the car. "You locked him in a closet!" But even at that he couldn't help but laugh. Cadence Woods was his girlfriend. He was Cad's boyfriend. Everything was perfect. Well, for him anyway.

A/N- Please Review!!!! I won't post until I have 10 reviews!! I hope you like the story!!


	6. Trouble

Disclaimer- I don't own anything you recognize from the books- Please R+R

A/N- Thanks to everyone that reviewed. You really made my day! I hope you like this chapter, the plot finally thickens!

"You locked him in a closet?" Remus asked through all the laughter. The three Marauders were on their way back to James' house after a highly eventful trip to the mall. "What were you thinking?" "I had to talk to her." James answered. "And to be fair it was Sirius who locked him in the closet." "So that's why we had to leave so fast?" "You should have seen Lily, she was pissed." Sirius spoke for the first time. {He had been laughing to hard to speak} "But Cad looked pretty happy..." Remus blushed. 

"So what happened?" James asked. "Well, she kissed me in the photo booth and then, well now, she's my girlfriend." Remus couldn't help but smile at the thought. "Congrats, mate." James said as they pulled into the driveway. 

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"Max I am so sorry." Lily pleaded in the backseat of Cad's car. "What the hell was their problem? The one obviously likes you." Max was still very angry about the whole closet incident. "But I like you. Now c'mon cheer up." She said the last bit as she kissed him. And much to Cad's dismay they continued snogging for the duration of the trip. Cad waited an extra 10 minutes at Max's house for Lily to say good night. By the time they got home it was pretty late. They headed up to Lily's room and started to get ready for bed. Neither of them said a word. Cad was worried she'd upset Lily even more and Lily was afraid Cad would take the Marauders' side. Just as Cad was drifting to sleep Lily said almost inaudibly, "You're lucky. You got the good one." Cad didn't have to respond. She knew exactly what Lily meant, and resented it. She had gotten the good Marauder. 

Everyone knew that the "good Marauder" was Remus. James and Sirius were the most troublesome, and Peter followed along. But Remus stood out. He was sweet and wasn't always the wildest of the four. {That honor went to Sirius.} But he could be as much trouble as all of them, just like the others could be sweet. The people who really knew them knew that. The way that Lily referred to them like that showed that she either didn't really know James, or just didn't want to. Cad feared it was the latter. And with those discomforting thoughts Cad fell into an uneasy sleep.

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The boys were the exact opposite of the girls they talked nonstop and even James found his situation comical. They stayed up late debating how they would terrorize Max the next time they saw him. They all knew that no one was serious. "Man, Prongs, good luck, 'cause if you plan on hooking up with that, you had better stay on her good side," Sirius said for about the millionth time, " 'cause she has a mean temper!" "You're the one who shoved him in the closet!" James shot back. "Hey, you know it's not healthy for a Marauder to go so long without causing trouble," he said sarcastically, "besides it was so you could talk to Evans." "Oh yeah, you're blaming me then?" James hopped out of the tree the boys had been sitting in. "Yeah I am!" Sirius followed suit. The two started wrestling and Remus just watched laughing. James and Sirius got tired and climbed back into the tree. Once James had caught his breath he started talking seriously. "I am going to be with her though. She can't be with that guy forever." "You should probably try not to piss her off in the mean time." Remus suggested. "Yeah I know," James smiled, "but she's so cute when she's mad." "Ha. I don't know what you saw but..." Sirius trailed off. "Are you insulting the future Mrs. Potter?" James said jokingly. "Oh, I didn't know that guy's last name was Potter." Sirius and James started wrestling again. Remus couldn't help but think about Cad. He knew the play fighting could go on all night, but he was content just think about his girl. 

The boys were woken bright and early by the rising sun. Remus had slept in the tree, and the others were scattered on the ground. Despite the lack of sleep the boys were re-energized and ready for the day. While Sirius ate and James showered, Remus sat down and wrote Cad a letter.

Dear Cad,

Hey, I had a great time yesterday. I have a feeling Lily didn't. James and Sirius told me about the closet. Sorry I had to leave so fast. I thought about you a lot last night. Sirius, James, and I slept under the stars and woke up to the sunrise, yet nothing compared to seeing your 

smile yesterday. I know that sounds corny, but it's true. I have to eat, but I hope to see and hear from you soon.

Love,

Remus a.k.a. Moony 

He hesitated about writing love, but in the end decided to keep it. He had never written a quote "love letter" and he laughed at how close this one came. He went down to the kitchen and made a bowl of cereal. "I was thinking-" Sirius said before Remus cut him off, "That's never a good sign." "Ha Ha. Like I said, I was thinking that we should go into Hogsmeade today." Sirius finished. Remus raised his eyebrow "I thought yesterday that was considered boring." "Oh don't get me wrong, it still is, I just thought we should get Lily off James' mind." "How will going to Hogsmeade do that?" "Dang Remus you are slow in the morning. There are always lots of girls there. We'll get him to fancy a new one." "If you think it'll work." "Aw. C'mon. Have I ever lead you astray?" Remus gave his friend a look. "Today?" He had him there. Sirius had not lead him astray today. Remus knew that logic was stupid, but what the heck? They always had fun at Hogsmeade and he felt that today would be no different.

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Cad was awoken by Lily's alarm clock at 7 am. They slowly peeled themselves out of bed and started to get ready for work. The two worked at a nearby coffeehouse. They had chosen the coffeehouse over a fast food place because they figured it would be a good place to meet intellectual guys. Their plan had failed miserably. Lily met Max; whom even Lily had to admit wasn't the brightest. And Cad had hooked up with one of her best friends, who happened to very smart, but she didn't meet him in the coffeehouse; so Lily said it didn't count. Besides, the only guys they met in the coffeehouse were cops. Fat cops. Skinny cops. Bicycle Cops. Every single police officer ate there. And that was about it. They put on their identical uniforms, {Khakis, and a maroon shirt that had the company logo on it} pulled their hair back and headed to the shop. 

Despite the lack of guys and over abundance of cops, they liked their job. It was the only time that summer they got to hang out with out Max, and even Lily didn't mind. Cad liked to think that her job made a difference. "I mean c'mon, we make people happy, that counts right?" They had this debate every morning. "Cad, you're being delusional. We're just fueling addictions." Cad liked to be a little more optimistic. "The cup of coffee I drink in the morning makes me happy." "You're an addict." Lily wasn't as much a morning person as Cad. "But you drink more than I do!" "Then I am a bad role model." Lily laughed at the thought of her ever being a role model, and was a little happier. Cad laughed too. The two entered their work in high spirits. Serving coffee could never have been as fun if they weren't doing it together.

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The boys made their way through Hogsmeade. They had planned to meet Peter too. They entered their favorite shop, Zonko's, and found their mousy friend. After spending half an hour at least stocking up on their troublemaking gadgets, their started to walk to the ice cream shop, but were distracted. James saw it first. It was a mob outside of one of the shops. The boys inched closer to see what was going on. "They should be trapped and sent to Azkaban!" The crowd cheered the man on. The boys still couldn't figure out what they were talking about. The man continued "They are a menace to society, they could kill at any moment!" Once again the crowd cheered. "They could be lurking anywhere waiting to strike!" The crowd yelled things like "They should all be killed." and "They'll come after the kids!" "We must strike back!" The man shouted. The loudest cheers yet followed. The boys froze; they were finally close enough to read one of the signs. Remus felt his legs give way. His friends caught him before he hit the ground. There was no mistaking it. On the banner, in flashing letters read: STRIKE BACK AGAINST WEREWOLVES!!!

A/N- How will Remus deal with this? Will he tell Cad? Will she join the movement as it grows stronger? Review to find out! {I know I'm evil} 


	7. RAW

Disclaimer- I don't own anything that J.K. does.

Cad and Lily returned to the Evan's home to find two owls waiting for them. One, the usual owl, had Lily's copy of the Daily Prophet. The other, had a letter addressed to Cad. Cad recognized the handwriting and immediately she got a happier. She had to admit that, yes, Remus sounded a bit corny, but she loved her letter all the same. She was brought out of her trance by Lily's voice. "Cad, listen to this." Lily then read the Daily Prophet article that had caught her eye.

_A rally will be held today in Hogsmeade. The affair is being held by R.A.W. {Remove Awful Werewolves}. The leader of the movement, which plans to dispose of all werewolves, is Mr. Jack Reilly. He has had small success in Ireland, and is moving to England. His movement, which is gaining support, is trying to make it legal to gather all werewolves. From there each will be judged, and based on how dangerous they appear to be, will either be sent to Azkaban or killed. If you are interested in this noble cause, the rally will take place at noon, in front of The Three Broomsticks......._

"Wow. That's weird. What do you think?" Cad asked curiously. "I don't know what to think. I mean, when we studied werewolves it said they were only dangerous at the full moon." Lily thought out loud. "I know, and Azkaban seems a bit harsh, but death? That's just cruel." Cad answered. "But if they're hurting people..." Lily trailed off. "I just don't know what to think." She concluded.

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"Let's go." Sirius said harshly. He could be immature at times, but he was very serious when it came to his friends. The four quickly left and returned to James' house in silence. No one knew quite what to say and Remus was still shocked. They walked in to see The Daily Prophet sitting on James' bed. James too read the article out loud. "Remus, I-" James started but stopped. "They can't do this." he started again. Remus didn't answer. He just sat on the bed with an emotionless look. 

"Dumbledore won't let them take you." Sirius said earnestly. "He knows werewolves aren't, that you're not..." Sirius paused. "We won't let them."

"But they're right." Remus spoke harshly. "At any moment..." "Only at the full moon." James cut him off. "I could hurt anyone of you." None of the boys answered. Remus got up and stormed off. The boys knew he had to be alone. They knew he was scared. They were too. How could they help their friend through this?

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Dear Moony,

Hi! I've been thinking a lot about you too. I can't wait to see you again. I was thinking, maybe we could get the whole gang together the day before school starts? We could probably all meet at my house. Well, anyway, did you see the article about R.A.W. in the Daily Prophet? I'm not really sure what to think of it. I mean, it all seems a bit harsh. I'm sure Dumbledore will say something about it, and it's probably best to stand behind whatever he does. This Reilly guy sounds pretty determined though. Things are changing in the magical world. It's pretty scary, but we all are going to have to weather the storm. At least at Hogwarts we can focus on school and our friends. Well, it's getting late here, so, talk to you soon.

Love,

*Cadence*

Cad sealed her letter and sent it with her owl. It was about midnight. Lily had fallen to sleep quickly bad Cad was having trouble. She kept thinking about the newspaper. She had to admit, even the controversial werewolf issue wasn't as bad as what usually met them in the print. A powerful wizard was starting to gain power. The ministry didn't pay much attention to it, but Dumbledore did. Over the past year there had been more and more mysterious deaths. On several accounts a student had to be ushered aside and told that his parents, or perhaps a sibling, and in one case a whole family, had been found dead. Dark times were upon them, and Cad felt lost. The R.A.W. movement was just another issue that she would be forced to take a side on. 

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The weeks flew by without much event. None of the boys mentioned R.A.W. Remus responded to Cad's letter, but was very secretive. He was pulling away from her. 

He had to. He could really see himself loving her, and he didn't want to hurt her. James and Lily really had gone in a circle. She hated him, and he was back to trying to win her. Sirius just seemed detached from it all. Peter was his usual oblivious self. Remus knew things were changing, and agreed with Cad, things were getting scary. He was scared.

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"C'mon Lily. You have to come." Cad pleaded with her friend. The whole gang would be meeting at her house the next day, and her best friend was refusing to come. "Cad, I just want to spend my last day with Max. I'm not going to see him until Christmas." "So bring him!" Lily gave Cad a look at this comment, but finally gave in. "If they pull anything they're dead." "Thank you Lily! We're going to have so much fun!" And with that the two girls went back to planning. Blair and Taylor would be arriving that night, with the boys coming in the morning. 

The morning came quickly and the boys pulled up in James' new beat up car. Cad rushed out to meet them. She quickly kissed Remus and then warned the others that Max was there. Sirius and James smiled wickedly. "No, guys. This is really important to her." She said directed more at James than Sirius. James nodded and the group proceeded to the house. They spent the rest of the day hanging out. James pretty much ignored Max and Cad could see that Sirius was unwillingly doing the same. They ate a huge dinner, and watched a couple of movies. At about 10 everyone went outside to camp out. Cad lived in a more rural area, and had a lot of property. They made a bonfire, and roasted marshmallows. At about 3 am Cad's parents insisted they go to bed. Max left and the gang settled down. Sirius picked his "relationship" with Taylor up right were they left it on the train. One by one they drifted to sleep. Remus has been a little quiet all day, and Cad had noticed. She laid in his arms and slowly fell asleep. Remus enjoyed being so close to her, and it was only then that he admitted that he couldn't pull away from her. He couldn't leave her like the others.

A/N- I hope you like the turn the story is taking, if I get enough reviews I will post the next chapter fairly soon. Coming Soon : Back to Hogwarts, and a new character! The more reviews I get the sooner I'll update! I have about 12 chapters written that I can't to add! 


	8. Reese

Disclaimer- I don't own anything that's J.K.'s

7 am came way too soon for the eight students. Luckily only Cad and Lily had stuff to gather. The others just helped in the madness. It was a miracle that they reached the train station in time. Cad said a rushed goodbye to her parents and followed her friends though the barrier that led to Platform 9 3/4. Once seated, the group just started laughing. They couldn't help it. They were on their way to Hogwarts, the place where they were all happiest. For about an hour, they sat around just talking. Lily forgot to be mad at James, James forgot to hunt Lily, and they all forgot about the pressures of the outside world. Eventually the thrill wore off, and Remus and Lily had to go to the prefect's compartment. Sirius and Taylor had gone over to a corner of their own, and Peter and Blair were engaged in conversation. 

James and Cad had gotten into a heated debate over the first prank the boys should pull. Cad was winning when all of a sudden the compartment door opened. James did a double take, out of the corner of his eye the girl looked like Lily. She had hair like Lily's, eyes like Lily's, but upon closer inspection she obviously was not Lily. She was several inches taller, and had a frown on her face, where as Lily's smile was unmatched. 

"Excuse me. Am I interrupting something?" Sirius and Taylor walked over to where James and Cad were sitting. "Um...no." James blurted out. "Hi. I'm James." Once he had introduced all of his friends the mystery girl introduced herself. "I'm Reese. I'm-" "You mean like the muggle candy?" Sirius cut her off. She glared at Sirius before finally answering sarcastically, "Ah. That never gets old." Everyone in the room was a bit impressed at how she stood up to Sirius. "And like I was saying," She sent Sirius a look to kill, "I'm new here. Going into my sixth year." "Oh. Wow us too." Cad ushered her to sit down across from her. Reese ignored her and sat rather closely to James. Cad gave the girl a look of her own before going to find Remus. As she left she could hear Reese, "So James, tell me about Hogwarts..." It was the fastest she had ever seen anyone latch on to him.

Cad wandered the train before finally getting to Remus. He and Lily were sitting in the prefect's compartment looking extremely bored. "Why are you guys still over here?" Cad asked as she sat down next to Remus. "Can't leave." Lily made a face. "Probably for the best anyway." Cad started. "There's this new girl hitting on James. I don't think I'll like her much." "What year is she?" Remus finally took interest. "Same as us. Aren't we lucky?" Cad answered sarcastically. Remus laughed, "Why don't you like her?" Cad went on to explain, "I don't know. It's just a gut feeling." The three sat and talked for the duration of the trip.

As they entered the great hall, Remus couldn't help but feel safe. He knew it was naive, but he felt that nothing bad could happen at Hogwarts. Where Dumbledore was was the safest place to be. "C'mon Rem," Cad pulled him out of his thoughts and over to the Gryffindor table. They watched the sorting of the first years without much thought, but were called to attention when a tall red head approached the chair. "Reilly, Reese!" Cad gasped and covered her mouth, only Lily noticed though. Cad mouthed "Reilly." to Lily and Lily's mouth dropped. "Gryffindor!" The sorting hat yelled. Cad groaned, but clapped along with the rest of the table. 

After the tables had calmed down, Dumbledore stood. The whole room froze. Dumbledore always gave a speech, but this year was different. Everyone was waiting for him to address the issues going on, waiting for him to tell them what to think. "I would like to welcome you all to a new year at Hogwarts." His voice sounded strained, as if he had aged tremendously over the summer. "There are a few issues I would like to mention." The entire room seemed to hold its breath. "The Forbidden Forest is, as always, out of bounds...." Dumbledore gave the same list of rules he did every year. The same list of rules the Marauders broke every year. Everyone was stunned when at the end he returned to his seat. This was the man who was supposed to tell them what to do, how to think, and he said nothing. 

When the meal began everyone was a bit quiet. "Why did you transfer to Hogwarts?" Cad said to Reese, who was seated next to James, out of nowhere. "My family moved to England, and they wanted me closer." She answered haughtily. "Why?" Cad asked. "Why what?" Reese answered a bit rudely. "Why did your family move to England?" Reese's face brightened up, she obviously liked talking about herself. "My father is the head of a very important interest group that has moved its noble efforts to England." "Which group?" Sirius asked, catching on, before Cad had a chance. "R.A.W." she answered nonchalantly. Cad felt Remus tense up, but didn't know why. The four Marauders all quickly caught each other's eyes. 

"You know, I am stuffed." Sirius said as he started to get up. "Wow, usually you're the last to leave." Cad said. "Me too." Remus, Peter, and James all followed suit. They quickly exited the great hall, much to the confusion to the rest of the group. Remus said the password {valerio} and the four boys went straight to their dormitory. "How can they let her go here?" Sirius growled. "Look we don't know that she's like her father." James spoke up. "How can you stick up for her? She called his work "noble"!" Sirius yelled back. "What am I going to do? She'll figure it out," Remus said shakily. "Dumbledore won't let anything happen." James said trying to comfort his friend. The words had the opposite effect of him and he jumped up, "Dumbledore! He didn't even say anything! There are bigger things going on in the world," he dropped his voice, "he can't focus on me." 

"We just have to stay away from her." Sirius suggested. "No we can't do that." James answered. "And why not?" Peter got in on the debate. "She'll suspect something." The rest of the group nodded. "Then we just have to be careful." Sirius concluded. All four jumped when they heard at knock at the door. Cad entered, "Hey are you guys all right?" "Oh, yeah, just tired that's all." James covered. "Oh. 'night then." Cad said. They could tell she didn't believe them. "Cad wait." Remus followed her. The two stopped on the stairs outside the door. "We're okay, really." The last thing he wanted was for her to worry. "I sure hope so." Cad sank into his arms. She started down the stairs, but he grabbed her wrist. She looked up as he pulled her towards him. He kissed her, and then whispered "good night." She smiled, "good night, Remus."

Cad headed to her own dormitory in her own little world. She really liked Remus, but she couldn't help but think that he was keeping something from her. She entered the room that she shared with her three best friends, and now Reese. The girls were all talking, mostly about classes. Cad sat on her bed and joined in. After a while Reese picked a new topic, "What about James Potter?" Cad was used to hearing conversations about the much sought after Marauder, but was still a little surprised that Reese was talking about him. "What about him?" Cad blurted out. "I don't know, just tell me about him." Reese answered. "I don't really know that much." Cad lied. Unfortunately Blair can't take a hint and said, "What! You probably know the most; you only dated him for like a year!" Cad was forced to talk about every little detail involving James until late in the night. "And now I'm with his friend, and am going to bed!" She concluded a bit annoyed. Her answers seemed to satisfy Reese though, because she too, went to sleep.

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The girls were awoken cruelly by the magical alarm clock. And so the fight for the shower began. By the time each girl was ready to go they only had five minutes to get to the Great Hall. The boys didn't have a problem, they had all gone to bed fairly early, and were ready quite early. Everyone had a few pieces of toast and began to compare schedules. Cad was surprised to see that she and Remus had taken the exact same classes. She looked up, "Auror?" He nodded. "Me too." She smiled. James and Sirius had the same classes as them, except that they had divination when they had Care of magical Creatures and vice versa. "So what do we have first?" Sirius asked James, he didn't have to look at his schedule, he knew they always had the same classes. "Um, Transfiguration." James answered. "Better go then." And with that, Cad, Remus, James, Sirius, and Blair headed toward class. 

"This class should not be taken lightly." McGonagall started with a beginning of the year speech. "This is not a regular class, and if you fall behind you will be removed. Understood?" The entire class nodded. "All right then, partner up and we'll begin." They spent the class reviewing several things they had had the previous year. James and Sirius were quite skilled at Transfiguration, and had no trouble with anything they were assigned. Cad and Remus also did well. They found, unsurprisingly, that they made a good team. The class in general was rather uneventful, until the end. 

"Let me do it!" Sirius whispered to James. James nodded. Cad and Remus turned around. Snape was working hard on transfiguring his rat into a plate. "Transpario" Sirius whispered. Everyone in the room burst out laughing. Snape's robes had become transparent. Professor McGonagall looked up anxiously. "Opagium" she said almost lazily. The class grew silent, with the exceptions of several snickers from Cad and Remus. "Mr. Potter! Mr. Black! Detention both of you!" James gave Sirius a look and the two didn't even try to deny that the spell had been their working. "Miss Woods! Mr. Lupin! Is something funny?" "No, professor." Cad answered. "You two can join your friends in detention." The professor said angrily. "Sorry, professor." Remus said still trying to hold back laughter. After getting their directions for their detentions, the four headed toward their next class. "James, James, James, I have one class with you and I already have a detention." Cad said jokingly. "Hey it was your spell!" James said as he started laughing again. Snape rushed past angrily, and they all burst into laughter again. Even with the detentions it had been a good start to the year. 

A/N- hey I hope you liked the chapter. I should update soon. Please review!!! Oh! I know that there's a lot of Max hating, but I promise Max-the-muggle play a good part later on! 


	9. Snogging with the Enemy

Disclaimer- It's not mine if it's J.K.'s

Lily Evans rushed to her first class. She was rather unhappy with her schedule. She only had 3 classes with her best friend, Cad. The whole gang only had one together, Charms. And worst of all, Reese was in every single one of her classes. She really got what Cad was saying. She felt guilty though, the only reason she didn't like her was a gut instinct, she hadn't even tried to get to know her. "First period Divination." Taylor tried to sound cheerful. Taylor, Reese, and Lily had finally arrived at the dreary room where divination was held. Taylor and Lily each fell asleep several times, but Reese was some how able to focus. "Well, it takes all sorts." Lily thought. 

At least two of the girls were happy when class ended. They headed toward Charms, a class that was expected to be much better. "What the...?" Taylor stopped. Five of their friends were sitting outside the Charms room laughing their asses off. They rushed over and explained what was so funny. Lily forced a grin, and held back her comments. She hated it when her friends picked on Snape, or anyone else for that matter. They filed into the room and took their seats in the far back corner of the room. Charms was Lily's favorite class. It was also her best. "This class is not to taken lightly..." Wow this sounds familiar Lily thought. Unbeknownst to her she had heard almost the exact same speech in Divination. 

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The rest of the day sort of blurred by. The charm of the first day had worn off, and everyone was happy that the day was over by dinner. "They really are piling on the homework aren't they?" Sirius mumbled through a mouth of potatoes. "Yeah. How are we going fit in homework, girls, and detentions?" James commented. "Maybe you should stop getting detentions?" Lily said obviously annoyed. "You mean stop getting caught?" Sirius answered genuinely confused. "Stop causing trouble you prat!" she snapped back. "Uh. Sure Lils." Sirius said sarcastically as he got up. "Speaking of detentions..." Remus, James, and Cad all got up too. Lily sighed. James couldn't help but smile. She was so cute when she was mad.

"So how many detentions do you guys think you've had?" Cad asked James and Sirius curiously. "563" They answered simultaneously. "But who's counting?" James finished. By the time they reached McGonagall's office she was already waiting. "You will be sorting these papers from my first years." she started. "That's it?" Sirius asked with amusement in his voice. The professor frowned, "No, they will be sorting papers," she said pointing at Remus and Cad, "You two," she glared at James and Sirius, "will be doing something a little more severe." With that, she got up and lead the two boys out of the room. 

"Wow. I wonder what they'll have to do?" Remus said. "I don't know." Cad started walking around the room. "Hey Cad?" "Yeah Remus?" Cad smiled, she wasn't used to him being so talkative. "Assuming we don't end up with another detention, do you want to go to Hogsmeade tomorrow night?" he said quickly. "That sounds great." She walked over and sat next to him. "I can't wait." He only had time to smile before Professor McGonagall came back. The two weren't able to talk much while they worked but enjoyed the time together. They took their time walking back to the common room, walking hand in hand. When they arrived they said good night at the bottom of the stairs that lead to the girl's dormitory. Remus went to his own room and fell asleep quickly. 

James and Sirius got back shortly after, Sirius went up to bed but James stayed behind to do some homework. He always had to work a little harder at Charms, but usually got by as one of the best in the class. He was struggling with the essay they had to write when he detected a movement behind him. "James?" the person asked. He turned around to see Reese in a somewhat revealing nightgown. "Oh, hey Reese. What are you still doing up?" "Oh, I couldn't sleep." She sat down in the seat next to him. "Huh, Charms, do you need some help? I finished mine earlier." "Sure." James answered a bit cautiously. She didn't notice though. About an hour later, the essay was finally done. James had relaxed a lot and was enjoying Reese's company. They stayed up a while longer talking. They finally decided to call it a night as they started nodding off. James laid in bed thinking. He really liked Lily. But then why couldn't he stop thinking about Reese?

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"This class is-" Professor Erbaugh had started her very unoriginal beginning of term speech. "Not to be taken lightly." The class finished. "Most of you are aware that this is a very important part in most careers." the professor droned on in her harsh voice. Professor Erbaugh was easily the gangs least favorite teacher. She picked on students constantly, well most students. She favored her own house, Slytherin. "Fail to keep up, and you will be forced to drop the course. Understood?" The class nodded. "With that said we will be brewing a rather complex potion today...pair up and begin." Sirius made a move toward James but found that the seat next to him was already occupied. "Uh, Prongs?" Sirius said impatiently. "Oh, sorry Sirius. She doesn't really know anyone and..." He trailed off. "I can find someone else. I really don't mind." Reese said sweetly, but gave Sirius a looked that said otherwise. "No, no problem." Sirius said sarcastically. He ended up paired up with Taylor. 

"Sirius no!" Taylor said for about the fifth time. "You only need a quarter shrivel fig." Sirius had been making a lot of mistakes. "Sorry T." "I know you're a little preoccupied," she glanced at James. "But we really need a good grade." "Sorry." Sirius wasn't the only one having trouble. Somehow Lily had managed to grab Cad away from Remus to be her partner. However, Cad still spent most of the time messing around with Remus, who was seated next to them. Cad and Lily were really good in Potions and had no problem with the one assigned. Remus, however kept messing up. "No, like this.." Cad would laugh and help him. Lily was actually happy to get away from her friend when class ended. Lily left the room quickly and headed toward Herbology with Taylor and Reese. Sirius also left quickly ignoring James' calls.

"What's up with him?" Cad asked. "I think I know." James answered but didn't care to elaborate. Sirius was already seated by the time they arrived at their History class. James sat next to him and tried to talk but Sirius just turned away. "I was just being nice." James gave up, but at those words Sirius turned around. "To her?" he growled. "Yes to her." James answered through clenched teeth. Their conversation was cut short as Professor Binns started class. He was easy to drone out, but gave Sirius a reason not to answer James. 

"Cad," Remus whispered. "Meet me in the common room after dinner, but don't bother to eat." Cad smiled remembering their date. She nodded and tried to pay attention. Later at dinner, only Sirius noted that the two weren't eating. "We're just not hungry yet." Remus hinted to him. "Oh..." Sirius said finally understanding. Cad left dinner a little early to get ready. She looked at her clothes. She wanted to look perfect for their first real date. She finally chose a denim mini skirt, and paired it with a white peasants blouse. She let her long blonde hair hang down, and put on a little bit of make up. She was ready.

"Where are you taking her?" James asked as the boys headed toward the common room. "That little restaurant near the Three Broomsticks." Remus said. "Oh, wow. Even I never took her there. She'll be thrilled." James answered. "I hope so. I think I really like her." Remus said shakily, he was beginning to get nervous. Sirius sensed this, "Calm down, you got the map right?" Remus nodded. The boys entered the common room and sat with Remus to wait for Cad. The all jumped when the door to the girl's room finally opened. "Wow." Sirius managed to say. Cad looked amazing. Remus walked to the bottom of the stairs and hugged her. "You look..." he was at loss of words. She smiled, "Ready?" "Um, yeah" he answered finally able to speak. "Bye guys." Cad said as they walked away.

"So where to?" Cad asked cheerily as they exited the passageway. "Right this way." he took her hand and led her to the restaurant. "Oh, wow. Remus are you sure?" It was Cad's turn to be speechless. Instead of responding, he just led her inside. "Reservation for Lupin?" He asked the hostess. "Right this way." she answered, smiling as she looked at the two. She led them to what was obviously the best table. They sat under the stars. The table was covered in an off white table cloth, with several white candles and a bouquet of white roses. Cad was speechless as she sat down. "Do you like the flowers, they're for you." Remus said awkwardly, he really wished Cad would say something. "It's wonderful." she finally said. He smiled at her and they began their superb meal.

"Remus that was breathtaking." Cad said as they exited the restaurant, "thank you so much." He put his arm around her, "You're welcome." The pair walked around Hogsmeade, and finally stopped in front of the Shrieking Shack. They sat on the wooden fence and looked at the stars. They talked for what seemed like no time at all, until Remus looked at his watch. "Wow. It's nearly one." "Do we have to go back. Everything has been so wonderful." Cad answered. She looked up and kissed him. Once they had pulled a way she looked up, "I love you." Remus jumped a little but didn't hesitate in answering, "I love you too." The two started the walk back to the school and arrived at the common room way to quickly for their liking. They kissed good night and went their separate ways. Remus was expecting to be the only one still up and was startled when he opened the door to hear screams. "What the hell were you thinking?" Sirius yelled at James heatedly. "What's wrong?" Remus asked. "I caught him snogging with Reese." Remus looked at his friend in disbelief. Had one of his best friends really been snogging with one of the people who wanted him sent a way, or worse, possibly killed?

A/N- Hey I hoped you liked this chapter! Please Review, I really want 10 reviews for this chapter before I post the next. I have it written so the more reviews I get the faster I'll put it up! 


	10. The Hunter

Disclaimer- I don't own anything that J.K. does

Remus stared at his friend in disbelief. "I'm going to bed." "Moony, I'm-" "Good night Potter." 

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"Remus, partner up with me." Sirius whispered to his friend as they entered the Transfiguration classroom. Remus nodded, he understood that Sirius wanted to be no where near his best friend. He felt a bit guilty though; Cad had already saved him a seat with her. Sirius and he took the table in back of her. Cad gave him a look. "I'll explain later." Remus answered pleadingly. James was the last to enter the classroom; he took the seat next to Cad without thinking twice. 

"Sirius," his friend looked up from the object he was transfiguring. "Meet me in the dormitory between classes." Sirius nodded, but had no clue what his friend wanted. At the end of class, Remus told Cad that he wasn't feeling well and promised to meet her later. Remus and Sirius started toward the common room, but Remus refused to speak until they arrived. "I've been thinking." "About what?" Sirius had an idea, but didn't want to jump to conclusions. "I think." He stopped. "I think. Maybe I should tell Cad." He stopped to see what his friend thought.

"She'd be the first to know." Sirius said slowly. Remus didn't answer. "Do you really trust her?"

Remus waited a second, "Yeah, I do. She said she loved me." 

"Oh. And you answered back right, 'cause they hate it when you-" Sirius tried to lighten the mood, but stopped after seeing the look on his friends face. "Right. Of course. Sorry." He bit his lip. "It's yours to tell, but-" Remus cut him off.

"You'd all be affected." Sirius nodded. They sat in silence for awhile, before Sirius finally answered,

"If you want to tell her, I'm behind you. But you really should talk to Peter and James. They should know." Sirius had difficulty giving his permission to his friend, but knew it was what he had to do. 

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"Hey guys. Where's Sirius?" "He and Remus weren't feeling well." Cad said, showing that she obviously didn't believe them. Hearing this made James even madder, he knew they were keeping something from him. James didn't take direction very well, even from his friends. So when he saw Reese he consciously did the exact opposite, as his friends wanted. So, for the world to see, they started snogging outside the Charms classroom. And that's how it went on for what seemed like an eternity. James and Reese. Reese and James. Everywhere. 

In reality it had only been two weeks from when they initially hooked up. But when the Marauders were split it seemed like forever. Remus and Sirius refused to talk to James. The way they saw it he was betraying Remus by even looking at Reese. James was with Reese even more to tick them off. Remus continued to spend time with Cad, and she could see that he was really hurt. "Ready to go?" She asked one evening. "Where?" Remus answered having no clue what she was talking about. "Quidditch practice, didn't James-" she realized by the fact on his face that he knew nothing of the practice. "Tell you." She finished quietly. 

The two headed for the Quidditch pitch. James was about to release the snitch. Cad and Remus quickly flew to their positions. "You're late." James said shortly. "You forgot to tell Rem about practice. Must have slipped your mind." Cad said cheerily. She was obviously trying to avoid trouble. "Yeah. Must have slipped my mind." James said cockily looking at Remus. "Like hell." Remus answered. All the anger that he had kept inside of him came bursting out. "What was that?" James said as he flew up to meet him. "Remus don't" Cad pleaded uselessly. The whole team stopped to watch. Most had never seen two Marauders fight. 

"Maybe if you thought about someone other than yourself-" Remus started to yell. "You just can't stop thinking the worst of people can you?" James cut him off. "Well in some cases its true." Remus said through clenched teeth. "I'm out of here." Remus flew to the ground and headed back toward the castle. Cad gave Remus a quick glance before deciding not to argue. 

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Remus stormed through the common room and up to the dormitory. Sirius saw him and followed. "Hey, Moony what's wrong?" "James." He answered shortly. He barely got a chance to answer before James too entered the room. Remus turned toward him, "Don't you have practice?" "Can't exactly do much without a keeper can I?" James spat. "Maybe you should tell him when practice is then?" "Oh, I'm sure he was too busy snogging with that girl." Sirius entered the fight. "That girl is my girl friend." James yelled as he turned his attention to Sirius. "That girl is the enemy!" "No, Sirius, her father is the enemy." Sirius couldn't believe he was sticking up for her. "and you," James continued, "should know that not everyone should be held responsible for their family's actions." Sirius dove at James. Remus separated them. If anyone hurt James he wanted it to him. "Get out." Remus spat. James listened, but not before he had one more turn at Sirius, "You don't care about Remus. You just don't want to land your ass in Azkaban." 

Another week went by. "You ok Moony?" Sirius asked his friend. It was the same every month. He hated seeing his friend so weak. "Yeah, I'm just going to go lie down." They only had one more class for the day, so Sirius decided to go with him. "So you'll be going tonight then?" Sirius sat on his bed next to Remus'. He nodded. "So I was thinking," Sirius continued, "I'm sure I can get Peter to go tomorrow night. We can just hang out in the Forbidden Forest. Nothing major." "So you still plan on going ahead with it then?" Remus spoke for the first time. "Yeah," Sirius smiled trying to cheer up his friend, "and James, well, if he wants to ditch that girl, he can find us." He knew James would do nothing of the sort, but kept that to himself. 

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"Hey, babe, are you okay?" Reese and James were sitting alone in the Gryffindor common room. "Yeah. I guess." James knew that the next night was the full moon. He hated the thought that Remus would have to go through the experience without him. "Don't worry. I don't know what you and your friends are fighting about, but I'm sure it'll be over soon." James smiled. This was the side that the guys didn't see. Reese was sweet, they only saw her family. "Yeah. Hey do you want to go to Hogsmeade tomorrow?" James figured being with her would take his mind of what he could be doing, what he should be doing. "Oh, hun, you know I'd love to but-" she stopped and thought for a second. "Well, I guess it's okay to tell you." "Tell me what?" 

"Well, you know how my dad is the head of R.A.W.?" James nodded. She now had his full attention. "and how they were trying to get permission to capture werewolves?" "What about it?" James said a little too eagerly. A big smile spread across Reese's face. "They finally got it!" She squealed, she was obviously ecstatic. "But, but" James stuttered, "there was nothing in The Daily Prophet." "Oh. I know. You think they'd want to spread the good news. Right? Nope. They don't want werewolves to know, so that they can catch them easier." James' thought he was going to be sick. "But wait there's more!" "What?" James asked knowing it couldn't be good. "They also got permission to kill if the werewolf put up a resistance." James' jaw dropped. "But they aren't in sound mind! Of course they're going to put up a resistance!" Reese's smile got, if possible, even bigger. "I know. Isn't it brilliant?" "Um. Yeah." James lied.

"But how does that effect you going to Hogsmeade?" James asked. "Well, tomorrow's the full moon. And because I'm a member of R.A.W. I'm allowed to participate in the hunt." James couldn't believe it. They had been right. She was just like her father. "They allow you to leave school?" James asked disgustedly. "Technically, no. My father arranged for me to hunt in the Forbidden Forest." "That's great." James forced out. He looked at his watch. "You know, I really better be getting to bed." He gave her a quick kiss and went up to the dormitory, trying to act nonchalant. 

When he entered the room he quickly found that he was the only one awake. "Sirius, Peter, Remus! Wake up!" He yelled starting to panic. Peter didn't wake but Sirius sat up. He noticed Remus' bed was empty. "James?" Sirius said groggily. "Sirius. where's Remus?" "He gets taken to the shack a night early, you know that." He was right. How could he have forgotten? He had to warn him. "Sirius, I am so sorry. You've got to forgive me, I was so wrong." He rambled on. Sirius became more alert. "James what's wrong? What's happened?" "Reese, you were right. They got permission. They're going to hunt." Sirius knew exactly what James was trying to say. "We've got to tell him. He'll still be normal, we've got to go." Sirius jumped up. James nodded and grabbed his cloak. "We'll be needing this."

A/N- Hey! Please Review. I'll update in 5 days or after 10 reviews. Whatever comes first. Coming up: a reunion, a moment, and a funeral 


	11. A new plan

Disclaimer- I don't own anything J.K. does

The three Marauders made their way through the school under James' cloak. Using the Marauders map they were able to successfully navigate the corridors. Once they reached the infamous Whomping Willow, Peter transformed and ran through the thrashing branches. He prodded a certain knot on the trunk and the branches stopped moving. James and Sirius ran to join Peter. They too transformed, just in case. They raced through the passageway. James led the way. They ran through several rooms before finally finding Remus. Once they saw he was safe they transformed again. Remus looked terrible. The three boys understood why he left a night early. He looked as if he was on his deathbed. They didn't understand. How could he so strong and yet so weak?

"Remus? Wake up Moony." James said, afraid he wouldn't wake. "James? Sirius? Peter?" He responded hoarsely. "What are you guys doing here?" "Remus, listen to me. I was wrong about Reese. R.A.W. got permission to kill werewolves. She's hunting tomorrow night in the forest. We can't leave." Remus was too weak to even answer; he just nodded and fell back asleep. James looked to Sirius; he didn't know what to do. As if he had been reading his thoughts he answered, "We'll stay." The three slept on the floor next to their ill friend. As much as they wanted to stay, they had to leave in the morning. Being careful to relock the passageway, they reluctantly made their way back to the school.

Padfoot, Prongs, and Wormtail started toward the Great Hall for breakfast. They were all tired and a bit out of it. "Hey, you guys don't look so good." Taylor said as they sat down. The four Gryffindor girls all looked concerned. "Isn't Remus coming to breakfast?" Cad asked, finally realizing he was missing. "Huh?" Sirius asked groggily. "Oh! He had to leave early this morning. He got an owl saying his grandmother was ill." Sirius saved himself after his blunder. "Really? That's terrible." Cad said frowning. Reese chose that moment to make her entrance. She sat next to James. Sirius looked as if he wanted to kill her, but a look from James quickly calmed him. James avoided conversation with her and rushed through breakfast. 

"What was that about?" Sirius asked once out of earshot. "You sitting so close to that thing? Haven't you broken up with her?" James sighed. "I can't do that." Sirius was outraged, "You're staying with her? She wants to kill Remus!" James thought for a second. "Look. If Reese hadn't told me that she was hunting, we wouldn't have known, right?" Sirius nodded, slowly catching on. "And you still would've gone out with him. He could've been killed." James finished. "So you have to stay with her to protect Remus." Sirius stated. "Exactly." James said as he and Sirius turned to continue walking to class. "I don't like it." Sirius said, stating the obvious. James smiled, "I know."  


"Mr. Potter!" James snapped to attention out of what would have been a blissful nap. He heard Sirius do the same next to him. "Do you agree with me?" Taken aback by the question, he sat speechless. "Err-" "Yes or no Potter." McGonagall's voice boomed. "Yes, Professor, 100%." James tried to smile. "So you agree that Mr. Black and yourself should have a week's worth of detentions for sleeping in my class?" Sirius picked his head up. "Yes, professor." James answered lazily. He should have seen that coming. 

"You git!" Sirius was running his hands through his hair, "detention for a week!" "Well, I didn't see you waking up to help!" James said defensively. They bickered lightheartedly as they entered the Charms classroom. As James sat down, Reese went to take the seat next to him. "Sorry, babe, seat's taken." Sirius said sarcastically as he took the seat. After Reese walked away dejectedly, Cad turned around. "Marauders back together?" She said laughing. "Something like that." James smiled, his first real smile in a while. Lily took Remus' seat in front of James. James sat up, and nodded toward her. "Here we go again." Sirius muttered under his breath.

James, Sirius and Peter all skipped dinner. They were too worried about their best friend. "He'll be all right." Peter said comfortingly. Each boy was sitting on his bed. "It's so much worse without us though." Sirius said hoarsely. "And what if he gets out? And she finds him?" He had never gotten out on his own, but the boys couldn't help but think the worst. "Besides, he shouldn't have to go through it alone." James thought out loud. "Couldn't we just go and stay in the shack?" Peter asked dumbly. "You know we can't. We wouldn't only be risking ourselves, but his life." James answered, more to convince himself than his friend. "It's just not fair." Sirius said angrily. Just then there was a knock at the door.

"Come in." James answered. He quickly got up when he saw that it was Reese. He had to get her out of there, before Sirius could say something. "Can I talk to you, James?" He quickly agreed and left the room with her. "I'm going to go now. Just thought I'd say good night." She said reluctantly. "Oh. I'm so nervous." She blurted out. "What if I'm not fast enough? What if I get bitten?" She continued. "You'll be fine." He answered heartlessly. She recovered from her breakdown, "Well, I better get going. Wish me luck." He leaned down and gave her a quick kiss. "Good night." With that, he turned around and went back to the dormitory. 

"How can you stand her?" Sirius asked James as the two made their way to Professor McGonagall's office. "I thought I liked her." James answered simply. "What about Lily?" "What about her?" James really didn't want to get into it, but could tell his friend wasn't going to let him off so easy. "I thought you liked her?" Sirius said truthfully. "I did. I mean, I do," he paused, "and she made it clear that she didn't like me. I had to move on." James stared at the ground as he walked. Even though Sirius was like a brother to him, it was a hard topic to talk about. Sirius nodded and the two walked on in silence.

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"What are you up to?" Cad asked Lily as she plopped herself down next to her. "Just finishing up a letter to Max." Cad leaned over Lily's shoulder to try and read it. Lily pushed her away. "You can read it when I'm done." She answered with a laugh. "How is good old Max?" Cad asked with a hint of sarcasm. "He's fine. Christmas seems so far away. I can't wait to see him." Lily said ignoring Cad's sarcasm. She signed her name to the letter and handed it to Cad.

_Dear Max,_

How are you? I miss you so much. School's going good, I've been loaded down with homework though. How was your English test?.........

"Boring. Boring. Boring." Cad said as she put the half read letter down. "How do you get these to him anyway?" Lily smiled at her friend's confusion. "Easy. I owl it to my mum and she mails it." Lily answered proudly. They had been writing letters to each other ever since the start of term. Lily really thought their relationship was growing. She really liked Max. But something seemed to be missing. She couldn't figure out what; all she knew was that she wanted it. She pushed those thoughts aside. She was happy, and that's all she thought mattered. 

"What about James?" Cad broke Lily's thoughts. "What about him?" Lily answered frowning. "I don't mean it like that." Cad said quickly catching the look on her friend's face. "You two have been friendlier lately, that's all." "I guess. It's easier to get along when he's not hitting on me." Lily answered honestly. "I don't think Reese would like it too much if he did." Cad pointed out. "True. She does seem rather smitten." Lily said. She didn't like it either. She hated every time she saw her with James. It's not that she wanted to be with him, she just didn't want Reese to be. "I don't like it either." Cad said. She had known Lily long enough to know when she was unhappy about something. Lily smiled, "Where are the two lovebirds anyway?" "Well, James has detention, and I don't know about Reese. She just kind of disappeared." "That's odd." Said Lily.

"Looks like that gangs back together though," Cad said happily. "Yeah," Lily perked up, "I wonder what they were fighting about?" "I don't know. Remus wouldn't tell me." The girls hadn't gotten a chance to talk much. Ever since Lily hooked up with Max there had pretty much always been a boyfriend around; Max then Remus. They seized their opportunity and talked until they both fell asleep on the couches.

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"You are two of the top students! I expect better from you!" James and Sirius nodded their heads. They had grown accustomed to hearing Professor McGonagall's lectures. "Tonight you will be working with our groundskeeper, Hagrid." She continued. She then escorted them to the edge of the forest. The boys were quite surprised. Of course they had been in the forest many times, but the teachers didn't know that. The boys feigned shock, and followed Hagrid into the forest. They spent several hours gathering filliwigs. They were pretty tricky, but made for a good challenge. 

"James, look." Sirius stopped and pointed. "Is that?" There was no mistaking it. She was dressed in camouflage, like the others in her group, but her red hair set her apart. "Reese?" James started to walk toward her, but Sirius stopped him. She was crying. "Just a little closer?" Sirius nodded. "....It leapt...and I....I...froze...I dropped my....and he...it's all my fault." Reese was sobbing uncontrollably. Before the boys could find out what was wrong, Hagrid sent up sparks for them to return. 

"What could have possibly happened?" James asked Sirius rhetorically. They tossed ideas back a forth while they walked back to the common room. It was about one in the morning, and they were exhausted. They entered the common room and were surprised to see they weren't alone. "Should we wake them?" Sirius asked. "Might as well. I'll take Lily." "Of course you will." Sirius smirked. Sirius woke Cad up in a matter of seconds. She was already heading toward the dormitory when James approached Lily. 

He gazed at her for a minute before nudging her. "Lily? C'mon wake up." He whispered. She moved a bit. "C'mon let's get you to bed." She made some sort of sound and opened her eyes. She tried to get up but stumbled. "Here let me help you." James smiled and picked her up. He loved how easily she fit into his arms. He stopped when he reached the bottom of the stairs to her dormitory. "Why'd you stop?" Lily asked groggily. "You know I can't take you up there." Lily opened her eyes. James set her down, "Goodnight Evans." She continued up the stairs, but turned around when she reached the top. "Goodnight Potter."

A/N- Hey I hope you liked the chapter! Coming up: a revelation, a funeral, and more Lily. I'll post after 10 reviews or 5 days! 


	12. Revelations

Disclaimer- Y'all know most everything's not mine

"Wake up guys." Peter's voice came way too early for James and Sirius. "Ugg." They moaned simultaneously. It took the boys nearly half an hour to get up and dressed. By the time they were ready they had missed breakfast, and were almost late to their first class. "James!" Reese came out of nowhere and clamped herself on to James. "What the?" "James it's all my fault!" "Reese what's wrong?" "My father," She managed to spit out before passing out. Everyone looked at James. "Err- I'll, um, take her to the Hospital Wing?" He said awkwardly. He carried her all the way to the Hospital Wing. When the nurse, Madame Pomfrey, saw him she rushed forward. "Oh my, poor girl," "She passed out." "It's no wonder, after the news came, she shouldn't be in classes." "The news?" James was now thoroughly confused. The nurse handed him the Daily Prophet. James gasped when he saw the front page.

_In a horrific accident, Mr. Jack Reilly, leader of the popular group R.A.W., was found dead this morning. It appears as if some unknown animal attacked him rather viciously. His daughter, Reese Reilly, who is currently studying at Hogwarts, is expected to make a statement at a later time. She is the only heir to the Reilly fortune..._

The article went on to tell about Mr. Reilly's accomplishments. James remembered seeing Reese crying in the Forbidden Forest. The article didn't say where he was killed, but James couldn't only assume that he had been hunting with his daughter. James sat with Reese for the remainder of the class period. "Mr. Potter, you should head to class." James nodded and started toward his History Class. 

When he arrived Sirius and Cad were already waiting for him. Cad was holding a copy of The Daily Prophet. When James approached she gave him a hug. "How is she?" He could tell that she was genuinely concerned. "She hasn't woken up yet." "I feel so bad." "Yeah, me too." The three entered the classroom and took seats in the far corner. 

"It didn't say where he was attacked. I wonder what did it?" Cad asked. Sirius and James glanced at each other nervously. There was no way Remus could get out. Right? Professor Binns started class, relieving the boys from Cad's questioning. The rest of the day went rather quickly, and before they knew it, James and Sirius were headed back to Professor McGonagall's classroom. That night's detention was much shorter than the previous'. They started back toward the common room at about 11. When they entered they found Cad and Lily again; however this time awake. 

"Hey girls." James sat down next to Lily. "Miss us?" Sirius said in turn. Cad smiled. "Of course. Hey, James, how's Reese?" James shifted uncomfortably; he hadn't been to see her since he dropped her off. "Err- she's still in the Hospital Wing." He hoped that was true. "I wonder when she'll have to give a press conference?" Lily spoke for the first time. "Huh?" Sirius was always able to sound so intelligent. "It said in the paper that she would be making a statement." "Oh. I don't know." Lily rolled her eyes. "Hey, do you know when Remus is supposed to be coming back?" Cad changed the subject. "In a couple of days." James answered truthfully. Lily yawned. 

"You better be getting to bed, I'd hate to have to carry you over again." James said smiling at Lily. Lily looked very confused, "When did you ever have to do that?" "Last night you-" Lily cut him off, "I fell asleep on the couch!" She laughed, "I totally forgot!" James frowned slightly, "I carried you to the stairs." She stopped laughing, and looked him in the eyes, "Thanks." She got up and headed toward the dormitory, " 'night all!" "Good night!" The gang answered. "Well, I'm going to call it a night too." Cad followed Lily, leaving the two boys alone. Sirius got up too, "Mate?" "I'm coming."

James woke up the next morning before anyone. He quickly got dressed and started toward the Infirmary. When he arrived he saw that Reese was already awake. "James?" He could tell she was stronger than the day before. "Hey, babe." He gave her a hug and sat down next to her. "How are you feeling?" James asked sincerely. "It was all my fault." She whispered. James leaned in, "What happened?" She took a deep breath before answering. "I was hunting, you know?" James nodded. "And all of a sudden this thing came at me." She paused. "I panicked and dropped my wand." James nodded again, eager for her to continue. "The beast leapt, but then, he must have been following me, I mean, it was only my first hunt." "What happened?" James repeated, trying to keep her on course. "My father, he was following me. He stopped the beast from hitting me. It killed him. I saw the whole thing. He died to save me." She said quickly on the brink of tears. 

James put his arms around her, "It's going to be ok." He said as she cried on his shoulder. "And it's all up to me now." Reese finished. "What is?" James asked as he let go of her. "R.A.W. I have to head it, for my father." "What about your mother? Can't she do it?" "James, my mother died years ago. It's only me. I have to do it." James nodded and embraced her once more. The two sat in silence until it was time for James to go to class. He walked to class plagued with guilt. She was so hurt and he was deceiving her. He didn't care for her. He had to pretend though; it was the only way to keep Remus safe.

The day went quickly, and James was soon heading to the Hospital Wing to help Reese back to the common room. "James?" "Yeah, Reese?" She stopped and sat down, leaning against the wall. James joined her and put his arm around her. She laid her head on his shoulder. A few first years walked by but didn't give them much thought. "I was wondering, you don't have to or anything," she paused. "Can you go with me to my fathers' funeral, for, you know, support?" "If you want me there." James answered, going to the funeral was the last thing he wanted, but he felt sorry for her. "I'm going to ask the other Gryffindor sixth years too, but it would really mean a lot to me if you were there." She said nervously. "Then of course I'll come." He forced out. Reese smiled for the first time. They got up and continued on their way.

"C'mon. Please." James was begging Peter and Sirius to go with him. "James, he wanted Remus dead, remember?" Sirius quipped. "Yes, of course. But she needs someone there for her. And I need you guys there for me." James pleaded. "Fine. We're there for you." "Thank you so much." They all started getting ready for what was likely to be a very dismal affair.

The girls were busy doing the same. They all had on different assortments of black. All but Blair would be attending the funeral. She had detention. Taylor had on black dress pants and a lacey black shirt. Her dark brown hair was braided. Cad and Lily each wore dresses. Cad's was short; Lily's was long. They both wore their hair down and curled. After crying for about an hour Reese managed to get dressed. She wore a tight black dress that was shorter than Cad's. She too wore her hair down. Reese led the girls down the stairs to meet the boys. As she did so, James couldn't help but admire how strong she looked. If only he knew why.

Dumbledore himself escorted the group to the funeral. The students sat in the first row. Through out most of the service Reese kept her head on James' shoulder. Taylor was crying in Sirius' arms, and Cad and Lily both looked as if on the brink of tears. James looked around at the crowd that had come. He grimaced at the thought that most of the people there wanted one of his best friends dead. "And now we will hear from Mr. Reilly's daughter, Reese." The minister announced as Reese started to get up. She stood at the podium for a minute before she started her speech.

"My father was a great man. He was always there for me, and for most of my life had to be a mother as well as a father to me. He worked tirelessly for a great cause." She paused, thinking about her words. With a look of determination she continued. "What many of you don't know is that that led to his death." Several people in the crowd gasped at this comment. "He was working to bring an end the werewolves, and one brought an end to him. Mark my words, I will strike back. For every person that has been hurt by a werewolf, I will kill three. It is in saying this, that I would like to announce that I will be taking over R.A.W. We will get revenge. I will get revenge." The crowd clapped as Reese returned to her seat. James was speechless. What had she just done?

After the ceremony they headed back to the school. When they arrived at the common room, everyone was happy to see Remus had "returned". Sirius, Remus, and Peter started to go up to the dormitory, and reluctantly James followed. He may not have had feelings for Reese, but he wanted to be there for her. "Are you okay?" Sirius said as soon as they entered the dormitory. "Yeah, I'm fine, but what happened?" Remus was very confused. He vaguely remembered them visiting him, but not much else. "James you want to explain?" Sirius looked toward him. James nodded and told the story. "...And now she's heading the group." James finished. 

Remus, who had remained quiet during James' story, spoke, "I can't believe it. If we had been out that night-" Sirius cut him off, "let's not even think about it." Remus nodded. "I still don't know what to do. Part of me still thinks I should tell Cad, before she figures it out on her own." He said. "Like I said, it's up to you." Sirius answered. Peter and James both nodded. "Will you guys be there will me? To tell your part?" After they all had agreed Remus continued, "Then just give me a couple of days. I have to figure out what to say." 

With that they all headed back to the common room. "Cad!" Remus ran up to her and gave her a kiss. "Sorry about that. Just had to talk to the guys." "um, ok." She said sounding a little hurt. "What do you say we get out of here? I mean we don't have classes tomorrow. Let's have a little fun." Blair said trying to liven things up. "Now you're talking." Sirius got up. "C'mon T, we'll go first." Taylor smiled and left with Sirius. "You guys, I think I'm going to stay behind." Lily said. "Oh, Lil, are you sure?" Cad asked. "Yeah, I've got some homework and stuff." She forced a smile. Blair and Peter left. "Well, okay, meet us down there if you change your mind, okay?" Cad said as her and Remus started to leave. "Okay." James gave one last look to Lily before he and Reese left. He really wanted her to come.

Once James and Reese had left, Lily went up to the dormitory and laid on her bed. She was glad she had decided not to go. She had started staying away from activities that involved both Reese and James. Plus she didn't like being the odd person out. Peter and Blair had started something, and that left just her. She took out a piece of parchment and a quill and began to write a note to Max. 

Dear Max, 

Hey. I'm glad you're good. Things have been pretty dismal around here since that girl's father died. Today was the funeral. Well, I've got some news. I might be seeing you sooner than Christmas. I've been thinking a lot lately, and I'm still not sure what to do. I'm considering coming home to stay. I miss everyone back home terribly. Well, maybe not Petunia. I know this is the sixth year that I've been going away to school, but it's all different now. I feel like my friends and I have been drifting apart, and even the classes have lost their spark. There's no longer any challenge. I know I'd miss the life I've been living here, but is it worth it? If I came home I could be with you and my family; maybe even Petunia wouldn't hate me so much. I really wish you were here so I could talk to you in person. Please tell me your thoughts.

Love,

Lily 

She had been thinking about it for a few weeks. One of the things that made Hogwarts so great was her friends. But Cad was always with Remus. Blair and Taylor were always off with guys, usually Peter and Sirius. "And then Reese and James..." Lily said the last part out loud. She hated thinking that way. She didn't like James. She loved Max. But when she saw Reese and James together it just made her blood boil. Everything with her friends had made her depressed, and that spilled over into her classes. She was still getting top marks, but didn't care. Everyone around her seemed happy. Going home just seemed to make sense. She didn't need to be a witch, she could be happy leading a normal life.

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"This was my best idea...ever." A very drunk Blair gloated. She had managed to score a few bottles of Fire Whiskey. The gang was sprawled out in a field near Hogsmeade. Peter and Blair had already consumed a whole bottle between them. Taylor, Sirius, Reese, James, and Cad were sharing the other two bottles. Remus was the only one who restrained from drinking. James and Reese were lying on the grass looking at the stars, although both had been drinking, they had limited themselves and were sober. Taylor and Sirius were snogging, they had both drank more than Reese and James, but the real surprise was Cad. "You know this stuff's really good." Cad squealed. She was sitting on Remus lap and had had a bit too much to drink. Heck, she was nearly as drunk as Peter and Blair. "You know Rem, Remmy, Remus, you are so cute." Over the past hour she had taken pleasure in distorting his name as much as possible. 

"Um. You too Cad." Remus was quite uncomfortable and at about four a.m. decided they should head back. Remus helped Cad walk through the passageway. She kept hitting her head and seemed to think it was hilarious. James and Reese led the way, each helping Peter and Blair. Taylor and Sirius had sobered up and brought up the rear. 

"Ok. This is what we're going to do." James stopped at the exit to the passageway. "Each sober person is going to partner up with a, well, not so sober one." Everyone nodded and he continued. "Remus you take Cad, Sirius take Blair, I'll take Peter, and you two are okay, right?" He said looking at Taylor and Reese. Taylor and Reese left first and after a few minutes had passed James sent Sirius and Blair. Remus and Cad were the third group to leave, leaving James and Peter last. 

When Remus and Cad arrived at the bottom of the stairs that led to the girl's dormitory, Cad got her second wind. "Remus?" She sounded much more sincere. "I missed you. Promise you won't leave me again, ok?" Remus looked into her eyes. He knew she was intoxicated, but felt extremely guilty. "I can't do that." He managed to say. "Ok." She got up and stumbled into the dormitory. He sat there for a second and looked up when James and Peter entered. He walked with them to their own dormitory. 

Peter passed out as soon as he saw his bed, but James, Sirius, and Remus sat up. "She said she never wanted me to leave her again." Remus said as he sat down on his bed. Sirius and James did the same and gave him their attention. "God, I just feel so guilty. I have to tell her." James sighed. 

"Well, tomorrow is Halloween; we could stay behind form the feast." Remus and Sirius both nodded. They boys then went to sleep; they had a hard day ahead of them. 

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"Ow." Cad groaned. She way lying on the couch next to Remus. Lily, Reese, James, Taylor, and Sirius were also seated around her. "How could I drink so much?" Cad was suffering from a killer hangover. Remus kissed her on the forehead. 

"How about some coffee?" He suggested. She brightened up. "Coffee?" Remus laughed.

"Hey Moony, why don't you, Sirius, and me go get some breakfast for everyone?" Remus nodded and the three left. They had been getting food from the kitchens for years. The house elves were always more than happy to help them out. 

"Masters Lupin, Potter, and Black!" A house elf named Toby rushed over to see them. "What can Toby get for you?" His high pitched voice was full of enthusiasm.

"Hey Tob, Can we get some breakfast?" Sirius asked. "Oh and a big cup of coffee?" Remus added. Toby rushed off to fill their order. After everything was said and done they left with: pancakes topped with strawberries and whipped cream, scrambled eggs, bagels with cream cheese, Blueberry waffles, and enough coffee to fuel even Lily's and Cad's addictions. 

"Wow. How did you guys get all this stuff?" Taylor asked wide-eyed. "Marauder's secret." Sirius answered as he put down the plate he had been carrying. After the group had eaten almost every last morsel, it was nearly two in the afternoon. They spent the day sitting by the fire, talking, playing chess, and just relaxing. Remus felt rather content with Cad in his arms and considered keeping his secret a little longer. At 6 o'clock, everyone started toward the Great Hall for the Halloween Feast. 

"You know, you guys go ahead. We'll catch up." James said covering for the four boys. Cad started to leave too but Remus stopped her and asked her to wait for him. She agreed, and they all headed up to the boy's dormitory. 

"What's going on?" Cad asked as Peter closed the door. Remus motioned for Cad to sit on his bed. He joined her and the other three sat across from them. "Remus?" Cad was confused and even a little scared. 

"Cad, you love me right?" Remus started slowly. She nodded. "And you trust me? No matter what?" "Of course." Cad was on the brink of tears. "So I can trust you? No matter what?" Remus continued. "Of course, Remus what's going on? What's wrong?" 

Remus ignored her questions and continued, "Cad, I've been keeping something from you. In a way we all have." "What?" She said.

James spoke for the first time. "Sirius, Peter, and myself are all unregistered animagus." "What? How?" Cad tone changed from worry to surprise. "We achieved it last year, and we can now each transform into an animal." He motioned toward Sirius. "He can become a dog." He then moved on to Peter, "and a rat. I myself am the stag." They each transformed quickly to prove their story true. "But why? Why did you do it? And Rem, what have you been keeping from me?" Cad had calmed down considerably. 

Remus stood up, "Cad, can they trust you not to tell anyone?" "I promise I won't say anything." A bit of worry had worked itself back into Cad's speech. Remus smiled a nervous smile. "Cad, mine's the worst." He paced the room. "What's the worst, Remus tell me, please." Remus paused for a second and chose his words carefully. "You know the Shrieking Shack? And The Whomping Willow?" She nodded. "They are here for me." Cad started to ask why, but Remus cut her off. "There's a passageway that sits beneath the tree. It leads to the Shrieking Shack. I'm taken there once a month." He stopped again. "So I can transform." Cad didn't get it; she was, if possible, more confused. "Cad, I'm a werewolf." She froze and her jaw dropped. "They became animagus for me, they visit me during the full moon. Dumbledore made it so I could come here, he and the staff all know." "I, I..." Cad started but was speechless. 

Remus sat down next to James, "Cad, I'm the same person you said you loved. I know that, and they know that," he motioned to his friends, "the question is do you?" She stared at the ground. "I would understand if you no longer wished to see me." Remus said quietly. Cad looked up for a second before getting up. She started toward the door, "Remus, I need time." She said shakily, she was holding back tears. "I won't tell." And then she was gone. 

A/N- Thank you so much for all the reviews!

Phobe- thanks for all the reviews! I hope chapter 12 didn't disappoint.

RowenaRavenclaw2- James and Sirius saw Reese hunting in the forest. They overheard her talking to other people who were hunting with her. They couldn't be w/ Remus because it was too risky. Before if they got caught, they got into major trouble. Now it would pretty much mean Remus' death. I hope this and chapter 12 cleared stuff up for you!

slippers- thanks so much, all of your reviews have been really encouraging! 

Wicca Willow- thanks for all the reviews! I hope you liked chapter 12!

Starbaby- Lily will definitely be around more soon!

harrypotter's luvr- thank you for reviewing! Your reviews really help motivate me to write!

Ruth3- Thank you for reviewing. Sorry but Reese is going to be around a while longer. But there will definitely be some subtle Lily/James in upcoming chapters. Hope you liked the chapter!

I know there are a lot more and thank you so much! I know the ending to this chapter was a bit evil! I'll update after 10 reviews or 5 days!


	13. Skip a few

Disclaimer- I don't own anything that J.K. does.

The boys laid awake in their dormitory. Each one was replaying the night's events in their minds. Remus was the most confused. Cad had unsurprisingly taken the news of him being a werewolf rather badly. When he finally fell asleep all he saw was the look on her face. Was she that disgusted by him? Or was she just shocked? 

"Remus, snap out of it." James whispered. Remus was having trouble concentrating and kept zoning out Professor McGonagall's instructions. Cad was working with Blair and Remus had joined James and Sirius. "Sorry." At the end of the period Remus was the only one who had not completed the assignment correctly. "Damn, I am so out of it." The trio was heading toward Charms. 

"Yeah, I know." Sirius murmured. None of the boys knew what to say. They all had skipped breakfast to avoid questions. Charms was bound to be a hard class; Remus knew everyone would want to know what was the cause to the abrupt ending of their relationship. He took the seat in the farthest corner. Sirius, James, and Peter sat around him. They knew they had to protect him. Cad walked in with her head held high. She didn't even look in the direction of Remus. This made him even more upset. Lily took what was usually Remus' seat and looked back at them uncomfortably. 

Cad faced forward the entire class. She felt childish. She knew that she had to face her problem, but all she wanted to do was run away. She had meant what she said; she had loved and trusted Remus. Part of her still did. After Charms Cad decided to skip lunch. She wasn't ready to face Remus. 

"C'mon you've got to eat something." Sirius said through a mouthful of corn. Remus was staring blankly at the plate in front of him. "Hey, how are you doing?" Lily came and sat next to him. This made Remus happy, none of the other girls would even meet him in the eye. "Are you sure you're supposed to be talking to me?" Remus hated that he sounded so resentful. "Why wouldn't I talk to you?" Lily asked in her same concerned tone. "Oh, I don't know. Because you're Cad's best friend?" Remus spat, each word reeking with sarcasm. "I'm sorry, but I thought we were friends too." Lily got up, obviously hurt, and left. 

"Moony, why'd you have to go and bite Evan's head off?" James said a little annoyed. He knew Remus was going through a lot, and knew he had to be patient. Remus sighed and followed Lily. "Lily, wait." He tried to grab her arm but she turned away. "Lily, I'm sorry, but you have no idea what I'm going through right now." Remus was about to give up. He started to walk away. "Are you so sure?" She said under her breath. "What?" Remus stopped. Cad hadn't told her had she? "Never mind." Lily said before walking away. 

Remus went back to lunch. His friends looked up at him expectantly. "Just someone else who hates me." Remus answered the question they didn't have to ask. "You'll get used to it. She hates me most of the time." James said trying to cheer him up. Remus paid no attention to him. They all got up and started to head to their next class. All of a sudden Remus moaned. They turned to look at him. "I just remembered. I have to go spend two classes with the person who hates me most." Cad and Remus had every class together, but Care of Magical Creatures and Divination were the only ones they had alone. "You'll be fine, mate." James patted him on the back. 

Remus trekked to his Care of Magical Creatures class alone. He always wondered why he took this class. He almost laughed at the thought that he himself was a Magical Creature. In a way it's kind of like Home ec. for a werewolf. His heart dropped when he saw Cad. She was standing outside of the group, actually where he had been planning to sit. Her normally perfect hair was disheveled, and she looked as if she had been crying. He wanted to comfort her, to hold her and tell her that everything was going to be okay. For a moment he almost forgot that he was the reason she was crying.

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Lily laid alone in the girls dormitory. She usually wasn't one to skip, but she just couldn't bring herself to go to another Defense Against the Dark Arts class. Instead she lay crying, feeling like a child. She held her most recent letter from Max in her hand. Her eyes scrolled the words over and over.

Dear Lils,

I hate to think that you're so depressed, but trust me, things will get better. As much as I'd love to have you here, I'd hate to be the person responsible for taking you away from something you know you love. I'm sure your parents feel like this too, and I seriously doubt Petunia hates you. Christmas will come faster than you can imagine, and I can't wait. I love you and just want to see you happy; and you're happiest at school.

Love,

Max

It was the sweetest letter she'd ever received, yet she hated what it said. She had been hoping he'd tell her to come home. That would be the final reason she needed. But no, he had to go and be all sweet. 

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"Hey where's Lily?" Peter asked Taylor. "I have no idea." "Maybe she's still upset after what Remus said to her?" Blair suggested. "Well he's pretty upset right now." Peter stood up for his friend. "Well, so is Cad and Lily was only trying to help." Blair said defensively. "Both Cad and Remus have a reason to be upset. They had a good thing." Taylor said a little sadly. "Speaking of good things, what's the deal with you and Sirius?" Reese entered the conversation. 

"I don't know. I guess we're more "Friends with benefits" than anything else." Taylor frowned. "I mean we hang out and do...stuff, but we're not a real couple." The two girls gave a collective, "Oh." Peter stared at the girls. What was the big deal? Did she want to be more than friends with Sirius? Peter just didn't get girls at all.

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"Uh oh, Padfoot." James said seriously. "I see a big, black, shaggy dog in your future." He laughed at the last part. They were studying crystal balls. "Really? Is it attacking a stag by chance?" Sirius answered sarcastically. "Yeah. Sorry mate, the stag won." James fake frowned, but laughed when Sirius playfully hit him. When they had stopped laughing Sirius asked a genuine question, "So what's going on with the stag and the hunter?" James thought for a second. "The stag has to be with the hunter to protect his friend. But the stag wants the flower-" "Who wants the muggle." Sirius cut him off. "Who wants nothing to do with the stag. Especially when the stag is with the hunter." James finished. "The dog would like to point out that everyone loves him." They both laughed. "Ok, mate. That was the weirdest conversation ever." James said through bursts of laughter. 

When they had sobered, James continued. "It just hurts so much, you know?" Sirius nodded. "I like Reese. But I really like Lily. I know that sounds dense." "You have no idea." Sirius rolled his eyes jokingly. "Oh like you should speak. What about you and Taylor?" Sirius squirmed uncomfortably. "Well, we're friends." It was James' turn to roll his eyes. "with benefits." Sirius grinned devilishly. "What do girls see in you?" James said with a sarcastic sigh. "Oh, c'mon. You know I'm irresistible." Sirius said cockily. The class ended and the two continued to playfully bicker all the way to Care of Magical Creatures. 

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Remus spent his Care of Magical Creatures class eyeing Cad. When the class ended, he debated whether or not to go to Divination. In the end, he decided that it would be best for both him and Cad not to be seated at the same table. He decided to hang out in the common room until dinner. He had expected to be the only one, and was surprised when he saw a certain red head in the corner. "Hey, Lily." He sat down across from her. She didn't answer. "Lily, I'm sorry. I hope you know that I do consider you a friend." He decided to try and right his wrong. 

Lily looked up at Remus. She could see that he was genuinely sorry. "Oh, Rem, it's not that. I'm sorry, I'm just a little out of whack right now. That's all." She mumbled. "What's wrong?" "It's nothing." She nervously ran her hand through her hair. "I'm just, I'm going to go lay back down." She started to get up. As she did, a piece of parchment fell out of her pocket. She made a quick move to grab it, but Remus was faster. He quickly scanned her letter from Max. "Wait. Lily, this looks like you're, like you're planning on..." Remus trailed off. Lily just stood there and nodded. Remus reached up, grabbed her hand, and guided her to sit back down. 

"Lils, you can't leave us." He said sweetly. "I just don't think I belong here anymore." She said as she started to cry. Remus put his arm around her. "If anyone belongs here it's you. C'mon, you have top marks in just about every class!" Remus said convincingly. "It's not enough." "Well then, you've got friends, and people who need you here." Lily let out a sigh. "Then why don't I see that? I mean, Blair and Taylor are always off with some guy, and it was you and Cad, and then Reese and James-" Lily stopped. Why did she care so much about Reese and James? Remus grimaced when she said the part about him and Cad. But push that aside when her heard her mention James.

"What about James? Aren't you glad he's stopped bugging you?" Remus asked. "Oh, yeah, of course, I just meant..." Lily said very unconvincingly. Remus raised his eyebrow a bit. "I guess, maybe I didn't hate it." Lily confessed. "So you like James?" Remus said weakly, he was really confused. "Not like that. I just don't like that he likes Reese." Lily said quickly. "Ok..." Remus was even more confused. "And that's part of the problem, I just don't feel like I fit in; at home, with Max, I do." Lily continued. She laid her head on Remus' shoulder. They sat in silence for a few minutes. "Lily I don't know what you think, but we need you here. Please don't leave." Remus said breaking the silence. She didn't respond. They sat in silence until the scheduled classes ended. Remus convinced Lily to go down to dinner with him. He was glad to focus on someone else's problem. It made it easier to ignore his own.

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Cad sat at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall. Her friends were encouraging her to eat. She stared at her plate. Everything seemed to run into each other, until it was one big plate of mush. She couldn't believe what she had been told the previous night. It all seemed surreal. She just wanted to wake up, and have everything go back to normal. "But it can't" Cad said under her breath. "What can't?" Taylor had caught her words. "Nothing. Look, I'm not hungry. I think I'm just going to go do some homework." Cad said quickly. As she got up she noticed Lily and Remus walk into the room. They both looked upset. She got angry. Why was her friend with him? If something was wrong, why didn't she tell her? Cad left the hall, determined not to look at either Remus or Lily.

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"Hey guys." Remus said as he and Lily sat down. "Where have you guys been?" Taylor asked. "I wasn't feeling too good." Lily and Remus answered concurrently. Their friends laughed. "We missed you this afternoon, Lils," Blair chimed in. Remus gave Lily a look. He didn't even have to say, "Told you so." She smiled. 

"So what are you guys doing later?" James changed the subject. All answered with a collective "nothing" except Taylor. "I'm studying with Chris Miller." Sirius choked on his food. "That Ravenclaw git?" Taylor nodded. "Why don't you study with me tonight?" Sirius asked hopefully. Taylor smiled coyly and leaned in, "It's not really the studying I'm going for." Sirius' jaw dropped as Taylor got up. "Now if you excuse me, I have to go get ready." She walked away smiling. 

After dinner, everyone returned to the common room to begin working on homework. Cad quickly relocated herself to the girl's dormitory when the Gryffindors entered. Remus sighed and sat down at a table with his friends. "Have you even talked to her yet?" James asked cautiously. "No." Remus answered as he took out a roll of parchment to begin his Potions essay. Remus had about half of it done when James and Sirius started goofing off.

"So Padfoot, looked like your beneficial friend was planning on being pretty friendly with someone else." James teased. "How's the dev- I mean Reese?" Sirius shot back. "No need to get all worked up, I'm just saying that I'm surprised. Being as you're so irresistible and all." "So, has your girlfriend murdered anyone yet?" Eventually the battle of words ended with all three boys laughing uncontrollably. 

"For the record you are now up to 78." James said once he had caught his breath. "Oh c'mon. We haven't done that since fourth year!" Sirius argued back. He had a right to. The boys' ritual often left him with bruised arms. "I think it would be fun to bring back." James said. "Well then, 78? It can't be that high." "You know the rules. One punch for each time you make fun of my girlfriend. It's only fair." James said that last part with a hint of sarcasm. "Yeah, but 78? No way." They then spent the next hour debating over Sirius' offenses in the last week. In the end Sirius was right. It was 77. 

"I knew it wasn't 78." Sirius said as he headed to bed. 

A/N- Hey! Thanks for all the reviews! I start school on Monday. If you have me on your author alert list, you'll get the updates, otherwise when I post it will probably be at about 3:00. It may be kind of scattered though, so I'm sorry to anyone who misses the updates. With that said, I hope you liked this chapter, and I'll have the next one up after 10 reviews or in 5 days. 

things to look forward to: detention, a James/Lily moment, yet another fight, and a traitor is revealed! 


	14. The beginning of the end

Disclaimer- If it were mine things would be different. But it's not, so here goes.

"Expelliarmus!" Sirius shouted. He laughed as James' wand went flying across the room. The two were in the middle of a heated duel before Defense Against the Dark Arts. "C'mon mate, you're not even trying!" Sirius egged him on. James grabbed his wand, "Had to give you a bit of a chance!" He jumped up and with one spell had Sirius beat. "I hate you." Sirius said as James helped him up. "I know." James laughed. 

"Mister Black! Mister Potter!" The boys froze. They slowly turned around to see Professor Huckman standing right next to Snape. "Mister Snape says you two have been dueling without my permission. Is this true?" "Yes professor." The teacher frowned. He was used to giving Potter and Black detentions. "See me after class about your detention." The boys nodded and returned to their seats. Remus leaned over, "Have fun." He said with a smirk. 

"Why is it always us?" Sirius asked rhetorically as he and James walked toward Professor Huckman's room. James laughed as they entered the room. They weren't the only ones though. Lily had also chosen that moment to arrive. For a moment, Sirius thought they were in the wrong place. "Lily, you've got detention?" James said exactly what Sirius was thinking. "Don't look so shocked." She answered sarcastically. 

She walked into the room and took a seat. James and Sirius glanced at each other before following her. "Ah. Glad to see you're all on time." Professor Huckman said as he entered the room. "Potter, Black, I hope this is the last time I have to give you two detentions." James and Sirius nodded, knowing that it probably wouldn't be. "And Miss Evans," he turned his attention to her, "Skipping my class is unacceptable." Lily also nodded. "That said, you three will be helping the house elves this evening." They followed the professor to the kitchens. "I will fetch you when your time is up." The professor then left the students with the house elves. 

"This is the stupidest detention ever. The elves won't make us work." Sirius laughed once the professor was out of earshot. "Um. Masters Potter, Evans, and Black?" The group turned around to see a timid looking house elf. "I've been told to have you wash the dinner plates." The elf said weakly, not used to giving orders. James started to take out his wand. The elf covered his head. James smiled, "No, it's to do the dishes." The house elf didn't move his arms. "Master Huckman says you are forbidden to use magic." James heard Sirius groan behind him. He put away his wand. The elf returned his arms to his side. "F-follow me please." The elf led the group to an enormous sink that was full of dishes. 

Lily took charge. She figured that she had the most experience with dishes and knew best. "Ok. Sirius you scrub, James you rinse, and I'll dry. Got it?" The boys looked at her bewilderedly, "Why, Evans, are you trying to boss us around?" Sirius said sarcastically. Lily walked up to him. "Do you have a better idea?" She got right in his face. "Just listen to her, Padfoot." James said as he walked over to the sink. 

After about ten minutes of working, Lily decided to try and talk to James. "So, what's new with you?" James was a bit taken aback by her starting the conversation. Truthfully, he had been trying to decide what to say to her all night. "Oh, you know, nothing really. Just trying to help Remus out." James answered in what hoped was an offhand way. "Yeah, Cad won't talk to anyone about it." Lily said sadly. "She's really upset." "So is Rem," James continued, "and he's got so much else to deal with too." "Like what?" Lily asked curiously. James had a feeling he might have said too much. 

"Oh, well, um, school and homework, and the upcoming Quidditch match." James covered. 

"You've got all that too. Plus Reese." Lily answered. "Well, I can handle anything." James smiled at Lily. Lily laughed. "How is Reese anyway?" James hadn't been expecting her to bring up Reese. He frowned a bit before answering, "She's good, she's been busy. What with her group and all." He answered. "Do you belong to R.A.W.?" Lily asked. James hated that Lily would think he'd be involved with something so heinous. "God, no." He answered a bit to strongly. "Are you?" "No. The whole thing just seems a bit much to me. Why aren't you involved?" Lily had been expecting James to be enthusiastic about being part of it, not the other way around. "I think it's cruel and unnecessary." James said plainly. "What does Reese think about that?" Lily noticed the look on James' face and hoped she hadn't asked to much. "I just kind of avoid the topic." James said looking at the ground. "Wow. You must really love her." Lily said a little sadly. James looked up at Lily and smiled, "Something like that." 

"What about you and Max?" James said changing the subject. "What about him?" Lily asked, not wanting to answer questions. James decided to be frank. "Do you love him?" He caught a quick look on Lily's face before she forced a smile. She decided to steal his line, "Something like that." James laughed. 

"That's it." Sirius interrupted. "Wow. That did go fast." James said diverting his attention to Sirius. After a few moments Professor Huckman told them they could leave. The Trio headed back to the common room in silence. When they entered the empty room Sirius headed up to bed. Lily started to go too, but James stopped her. "Lil, can I talk to you a second?" She turned around, "Sure." "I just wanted to let you know that I consider you a friend, and I hope you consider me one." He said quickly. Lily gave him a hug. "Of course." James smiled. "Goodnight Potter." She continued as she started back towards the stairs. "Goodnight Evans." He watched her walk into her room before turning toward his. A previous conversation ran through his head. 

_"Lily, I like you, and if I can't have you as a girlfriend-- I'd rather be your friend than not be in your life at all."_

At least he had part of what he wanted.

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"Oh' c'mon!" It was Saturday afternoon and the Gryffindors were practicing for the upcoming Quidditch match. James was loosing his patience as Cad, once again, dropped the quaffle. "Let's try it again!" He moaned tossing the quaffle back to Cad. James was very depressed by the time practice ended. If Cad was even able to make a play, one of the chasers would score on Remus easily. Neither of them had been playing very well since the break up. It didn't help James' mood much to see Reese waiting for him on the ground. 

"Hey!" She smiled. James faked a smile and gave her a quick kiss. He put his arm around her and they walked toward the castle. "I have an idea." Reese said perkily. "Let's go to Hogsmeade tonight. I feel like I haven't spent any time with you lately." This was true. Between James avoiding her and R.A.W. they were rarely together. James faked a smile, "Sounds great." Reese spent the rest of walk talking excitedly about what they should do. 

When James got to the boys' dormitory he found Remus laying on his bed. Remus looked up when James entered. "Hey mate." Remus sounded upset. "What wrong?" James asked. "Prongs, I sucked." He said frankly. "You weren't that bad." James sighed. "Yeah. I was." Remus said as he sat up. James sat down. "Okay, so you were. You're just rusty, that's all." "No. I know I can do it. It's just, well, Cad. I see her and I just freeze up." James frowned. It had been over two weeks since they broke up and he was still moping around.

"Moony, you've got to get over it. I know you loved her, but..." James stopped. He realized how hypocritical he was being. "James, last year you would mope for a month if Lily even looked at you wrong." Remus smiled. James' Lily obsession seemed so long ago. "Speaking of Lily," Remus smiled coyly, "you still keen on her?" James smiled. "You know I'm with Reese."

"Right." Remus frowned again. "Thanks by the way." James looked at his friend, "For what?" Remus gave him a look. It was very hard to lie to a fellow Marauder. James relaxed, "No problem. If hanging with some girl will help keep you safe, then it's worth it." Remus smiled. James hopped up, "Well, I've got to get ready for a date with the devil." Remus laughed, "Have fun." He started to leave but turned back. "Oh, and Lily didn't totally hate you stalking her." He left before James could answer. James stood in confusion. Did she really not hate having James around?

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"It's perfect!" Reese squealed. James and Reese were in a jewelry shop in Hogsmeade. James was wearing his usual slacker apparel and Reese was dressed in, ironically, red. "How much is it?" She asked the clerk. Reese was holding a silver ring with the word "dream" engraved on it. "Hmm. Five Sickles." The saleslady responded. 

"I'll take it!" Reese was smiling the entire time. Shopping was her favorite pastime. They headed toward the Three Broomsticks. 

They sat at a table in the far corner. They ordered two butterbeers and began to talk. Unfortunately, Reese picked the topic James was least looking forward to. "So I've began recruiting new members for R.A.W." Reese said nonchalantly. "Oh, um, how's that going?" James said awkwardly. "Ok, I guess. All the girls except Lily and Taylor have joined. I haven't talked to the guys." James couldn't believe his ears. "You mean Cad joined?" He blurted out. "Yeah, it took a little convincing, but eventually she saw the benefits of a werewolf free society." Reese frowned and continued, "But that Lily, I don't know what her problem is. She is positively adamant. I'm sure Taylor would join if she did." James smiled. At least Lily was on their side. But how could Cad not be?

"What about you? When are you going to join?" Reese interrupted his thoughts. "Err, well, you know, um..." He searched for words. He wanted to say something to the effect of "when hell freezes over," but knew that wouldn't go well. Fortunately Reese saved him from answering. "Oh my gosh, listen to me. This is supposed to be a work free night!" James nodded and began talking about Quidditch. He knew eventually he would have to tell her no, but at least he could put it off a little longer.

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Meanwhile, Remus hung out with Sirius and Peter in the common room. "Who's she with now?" Peter asked as he sat down. "Jeff Altman, a seventh year." Remus said. The boys had picked up a new hobby. It was called glare at Taylor and whatever guy she's with. And there had been a lot of guys. Almost every night she "studied" with a different one. This made Sirius furious. The rest of the Marauders found it quite amusing. "She hasn't studied with me in two weeks!" Sirius complained. 

"She has been a bit busy." Remus said sarcastically. Sirius glared at him for a moment before retuning his gaze to Taylor. "And look at the guy she's studying with," Sirius had a complaint about every guy. "he's a complete moron!" "Sirius, he's head boy." Remus said forcing back laughter. "So?" Sirius said standing up. "Where are you going?" Peter asked, afraid he was about to do something stupid. Sirius just smiled. Remus and Peter followed him to the corner of the common room. Remus knew exactly what he was doing, and with in seconds the entire room was full of fireworks. 

Sirius glanced over at Taylor. She looked furious. Her date was too busy watching the display to pay attention to her. "Mission accomplished." Sirius muttered as he headed to the dormitory. He was surprised to find he wasn't alone.

"What do you think you're doing?" Taylor called after him. Sirius turned around. "Whatever do mean?" He answered innocently. "Why'd you set off the fireworks?" She continued to follow him up the stairs. "I just wanted a little excitement." He entered the dormitory and was only slightly surprised when she followed him. "Oh, c'mon! Do you honestly think I haven't noticed you glaring at me?" He sat down on his bed. "You always seemed a bit busy to me..." He trailed off. "Ugg." She growled angrily. "What's you're problem?" She stopped pacing and looked at Sirius. He got up and put his arms around her. "I want to "study" with you." He leaned in to kiss her, but to his surprise she pulled away. "That's all I am to you!" She turned and left. Sirius was confused. What else could she be? She didn't want to be...? "I am so stupid!" Sirius said, finally realizing what Taylor had meant. He didn't have very long to ponder what he wanted before the rest of the gang came crashing into the room. 

"How was the date?" Sirius asked. "Not so good." James said seriously. "Both Blair and Cad have joined R.A.W." Sirius glanced at Remus; he looked like he was about to be ill. "What about Lily and T?" He said as he sat up. James shook his head. "Do you think Cad will...?" Sirius paused, not wanting to say everyone's worst fear. "I don't know." James answered. They were startled by a sudden movement. Remus had pulled out the Marauders map and was studying it quickly. He took off without saying anything. The three left rushed over to the map. James got there first. "Where is she?" Sirius asked. "Library." He answered as they ran to follow Remus. 

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"Cad?" Remus rushed into the Library. He hadn't talked to her since Halloween, but her joining R.A.W. was the push he needed. He spotted her studying in the back. "How could you?" She looked up. "Remus-" he cut her short. He lowered his voice. "I can understand you hating me, but..." He couldn't bring himself to say the truth. Cad regained her wits. "How could I? How could you!" 

Remus was outraged. "Do you think I chose it?" Cad got to her feet. "No. But you chose to keep it from me." Remus quickly looked around. Luckily, the room was empty. He lowered his voice so that even she could barely hear. "What am I supposed to say? "Hi. I'm Remus Lupin I'm a-"" "No." She interrupted. "I thought I knew you. We loved each other. You should have told me before then." "I never loved you." Remus said, immediately regretting it. Cad picked up her books and ran out. The rest of the Marauders had just arrived. Remus collapsed in the chair previously occupied by Cad.

They sat in silence. Each knowing that at any moment the world as they knew it could end.

A/N- Hey, hope you liked this chapter! I'll update after 10 reviews or five days. things to look forward to: a budding friendship, an almost R rated scene, and much more. {the upcoming chapters are my favorite so far!} Quick question: Does it ever officially say in the books what position James played? I've looked like mad and I can't find anything. If anyone knows could you please write it in your review? It'd he really helpful for an upcoming chapter. Thanks a lot!

*~~Siriusly~~* 


	15. Almost R rated

Disclaimer- Anything that's J.K.'s isn't mine

Cad ran through the halls. She didn't even have to think. She had spent so much time in the Library lately that her feet knew the path. Unaware that she had started cry, she was surprised to feel tears run down her cheeks. The words echoed in her head. _"I never loved you."_ She had been so certain. She knew that she had loved him. Yet now she hated him. How could he have this power over her? If he never loved her, how could she be so upset? She hated how he made her feel. Cad felt herself connect with something solid.

"Cad, are you okay?" Lily was standing over her. "Cad?" "Oh my God. Lily." Cad continued crying. "C'mon Cad." Lily helped her up and guided her to the dormitory. Cad collapsed onto her bed. "Cad, talk to me. What's wrong?" Cad caught her breath. "He never loved me." She whispered. Lily kneeled next to her bed, "Aw, hun, you know that's not true. Why would you think that?" "We, we were fighting, and, and he said so." A new wave of tears came forth. Lily bit her lip. "You know he didn't mean it. You're both really upset." Cad's grief turned to anger. "He's not." She said vengefully. "Do you really think you've been the only one moping around here lately?" Lily smiled trying to cheer Cad up. Cad didn't answer. Lily sat with her until she fell asleep.

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The boys sat in the common room. "Remus I-" James started. "Let's just not talk about it. I'm going to bed." Remus walked to the dormitory. As he left Reese approached the group. "Hey. What's wrong with Cad? I saw Lily walk her upstairs." She sat on James' lap. "She got in a fight with Rem." Peter answered. "Oh." Reese laid her head on James' shoulder. "I feel so sorry for them." "Yeah, me too. I'm going to bed." Sirius left. "Right behind you." Peter followed him. 

Reese grinned at James. "I guess that just leaves us." She leaned in and kissed him. They snogged for a while before Reese pulled away. "Unless you want," she paused and nodded toward the dormitory, "to go to bed." James was a little hesitant but nodded. She led him up the stairs into the boys' dormitory. His friends' rhythmic breathing told him that they were all asleep. He led her to his bed. Did he really want this? Yes. With her? No. She was kissing him. She was taking off her shirt. This was it, he had to stop it. But he didn't get the chance.

The light came on. Reese froze. James could make out a person that had entered the room. Reese got up and James opened his curtains. He was quite surprised at what he saw. There, looking very annoyed, stood Lily. Reese chose that moment to stumble out half naked. Lily made a face, "Sorry to interrupt Potter. Which one is Remus?" He couldn't believe it. Caught by the worst person possible. The silence was very awkward. "You know, I'm just going to go." Reese said as she put her shirt back on. "That's probably a good idea." Lily said sarcastically. "Do you have a problem with me Evans?" She got in Lily's face. "More than you know, Reilly." Lily was ready to fight. James intervened, "Reese, just go." She sighed and walked out the door.

"Lily?" Remus had woken up. "Exactly who I was looking for." Lily walked over to Remus. "What just happened with you and Cad?" Remus couldn't shrug her off like he did the guys. She had a certain tell-me-or-die look. "We had a fight." He said plainly. Lily's expression softened. "She said you told her you never loved her." Remus grimaced. "Yeah." Lily sat down next to him. "Is that true?" Remus looked Lily in the eyes, "Truth is, I never stopped." Remus, usually stone faced, felt a tear fall down his cheek. Lily embraced him in a hug. James stood awkwardly and watched them. Lily pulled out of the hug. "I'm sorry Rem, it'll get better." She gave him another hug. "Sorry to wake you, I just had to know the other side." "It's okay." She turned toward James. "Sorry I sort of, um, interrupted." "Oh. I wasn't going to, we were just-" he mumbled before she cut him off. "Rounding home?" She said trying to hide how much she hated what she had walked in on. Remus looked at James, obviously confused. "I was going to stop." James said uncomfortably. "Uh huh." She gave Remus one last hug. "Be happy, Rem. Goodnight." She moved toward the door. "Night Potter."

Once she had left James sat back down. "Did she, was Reese, did you?" Remus stuttered. James started laughing. "If Lily had come any later," James paused, "well, I'd no longer be a virgin. That's for sure." Remus' jaw dropped. "You and Reese?" James nodded. "Why?" Remus said as he cringed. "Well, it was like I wanted to, and she wanted to. But I didn't want to with her. But then we were here, and her shirt was off and I wanted to stop. But I don't think I would've. Then Lily walked in and we froze." James said so quickly that he was almost incoherent. "You're something else Prongs." Remus said as he turned out the light.

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"Prongs, you've got to end it with her." Sirius said quietly. The Marauders were seated in the corner of the common room. "The last thing we need are little devils around here." "I know. But we need her now more than ever. If Cad tells Reese about Moony, then I'll be the first to know." James said. "James, you don't need to do this. It's my problem." Remus said, speaking for the first time. "Yeah, I do. We're not going to let her hurt you." James replied. He couldn't believe Remus would think that they would sit back and let her hurt him. "Look, there's nothing we can do." James said as he stood up. "We've got practice." He motioned to Remus and they walked off.

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"Cad, you've got to go." "No I don't. I don't want to see him." Cad argued back. Lily was trying hard to get Cad to go to practice. "You can't lose your spot on the team because of him. You've worked too hard." Lily had struck a nerve. Cad grabbed her Quidditch robes and headed to the door. "See you later." Lily yelled after her. Cad was becoming a full time job. Convincing her to go to meals, to class, and now practice took up a lot of Lily's time. 

Lily sat down and pulled out a piece of parchment. She hadn't responded to Max's most recent letter. She finally had something to say. 

Dear Max,

Sorry it took me so long to respond. I've been really busy. So, how 

are you? I'm a little better. I'm still not sure if I'm going to stay here. At least I'm going to stay until Christmas. I've been spending a lot my time

with Cad. Her and her boyfriend broke up and she's been really depressed. My classes are going better, but still not great. I figure I'll have my mind made up after break. You'll never believe what happened! You're little angel got detention! I skipped class and the teacher caught me. I had to clean for like two hours! It's usually Cad causing trouble, not me. The detention didn't totally suck, but I think it marked the ending of my rebellious streak. I look forward to hearing from you. 

Love you and miss you,

Lily

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"I just didn't like her tone." Reese said. She and James were walking toward the Quidditch pitch. Reese had spent most of the walk complaining about Lily. "And what does she mean "More than you know,"? I haven't given her any reason to hate me." James was growing tired of her complaints and was relieved when they reached the pitch. As usual Cad and Remus were at opposite ends of the field. James sighed, it was going to be another long practice. "Alright team, lets go..."

The practice however was far from horrible. The effects of Cad and Remus' grief being replaced by anger was amazing. Cad worked harder than ever to score against Remus. And he was just as determined to keep her from scoring. She never dropped the quaffle and made several amazing shots. Remus, not to be outdone, made numerous spectacular saves. The team looked as good as ever. At the end of practice James was speechless. The level of playing was nearly as high as the tension. 

"Wow. Great job out there." James told Remus as they walked back to the castle. "We're sure to beat Slytherin if you play like that." Remus didn't answer. "Moony?" James was getting annoyed. "Why are you dating Reese?" Remus' voice was monotone, emotionless. James was startled. "You know why I'm with her." He said pointlessly. "Because you need to protect me? Because I can't take care of myself?" Remus sounded upset. "No, it's not-" James started but was cut off. "Yes it is. James, this happened to me. Not you. Not Sirius. Not Peter. Me. So be honest. Why are you dating Reese?" Remus wasn't the only one upset. James couldn't believe what his friend was saying.

"Rem, we're your friends. We don't want anything to happen to you. And we're willing, not obligated, to help you anyway we can." James yelled. Remus stopped. "What about you guys? I'm not the only one in danger. Do you think I want you guys to get hurt?" James now saw what his problem was. He didn't want his friends to sacrifice themselves for him. "You're in more immediate danger than us. We're willing to risk it." "To risk everything?" Remus said a bit softer. James didn't even have to think about his answer. "Everything." Remus looked to the ground and continued walking. "I don't want to be a charity case." He said quietly. "You're not." James answered simply. The two walked in silence. 

When James and Remus entered the common room they found it full of people. The younger kids sitting around playing wizard's chess; the older ones studying. Remus made straight for the dormitory, but James scanned the room. Finally, he saw who he was looking for. Reese was sitting in front of the fireplace reading a book. He walked up to her and asked if they could talk. Reese put down her book. "Um. Not here." James said a bit uncomfortably. Reese got up and followed him out of the room. He needed a place where no one would over hear them. A place where he could talk one on one with her. He quickly remembered the room he and Sirius had found during their fifth year. It was full of the books they needed to become animagus. They had been looking for a place when all of a sudden it just appeared with everything they needed.

He guided her to the room but was quite shocked when he opened the door. The room was completely different. Instead of comfy chairs there was a bed. The bookshelves held books James had never seen before. One part of the room was romantic, where as the other was strict looking and brightly lit. "Oh, James," Reese said eyeing the bed, "that was just what I was thinking." James let go of Reese's hand and walked over to the bookshelves. His face reddened a bit as he looked at the titles: _The Changing Witch and Wizard _by Philip Whizby, _How to Say No: Rejecting Drugs, Sex, and Other Evils _by Prudence Nun, and _The Bible. _

James quickly added things up in his head. Reese wanted a place to fool around, I wanted the opposite, and we needed a place to work... "Oh." James said quickly figuring out what the room really was. "Uh, James?" Reese brought him out of his trance. She was sitting on the bed, obviously waiting for him. "Reese can we sit over here?" James said motioning to the table and chairs. Reese got up and sat in a chair. James sat across from her.

"You know what almost happened last night?" James asked stupidly. He felt like a child. Reese reached over and took his hand. She smiled, "Yeah." James searched his brain for words. "Well, I'm, I'm," he paused, "not ready." He said it quickly and quietly. Reese's jaw dropped. "Oh." She said with a lot less enthusiasm than her first response. "You're just not ready with me or with anyone?" James had not been expecting an interrogation. He knew what he wanted to say. He wanted to say, "I'll never be ready with you. But you know Lily...?" But he thought of Remus and held back. Instead he answered, "With anyone." Reese was not satisfied with his answer though. "So you're a virgin?" She said rather bluntly. "Yeah." James said, his face once again going red. Reese made a face before saying, "Well, I just assumed. I mean you've had a lot of girlfriends. I figured that you would have, you know, with at least one." Reese rambled.

James couldn't believe what she was saying. Was she trying to embarrass him? James thought it was over. "I mean I've only dated a few guys. Granted they were pretty serious relationships. But we were much more casual about sex." She said plainly. If James felt young before, he now felt like a two year old. He felt like slinking off, but she continued. "So if you want to wait, I can handle that. But when you're ready," her smile returned, "just let me know." James faked a smile and nodded. He wished he could say something that would make her think that would ever happen, but all he could force out was, "Let's head back to the common room."

When they arrived Reese went to be with Taylor and Blair. She said that she was supposed to study with them. James had a feeling Taylor and Blair would soon be finding out that he was still a virgin. He didn't care though. He just walked over to Sirius and sat down. Sirius was glaring at Taylor even though she wasn't with a guy. "Can't be jealous of Blair now can you?" James said lightheartedly as he sat down. 

"I'm not jealous. Just thinking." Sirius said as he took his eyes off Taylor and focused on James. "Don't wear yourself out." James said with a smile. He could tell something was wrong. Sirius didn't respond to the put down. Instead he changed the topic all together. "With the exception of Cad, you've never had a real serious girlfriend, right?" James was a bit shocked. "What about Reese?" he answered. "She doesn't count." Sirius said simply. James didn't even need an explanation. "That's right then." James said, becoming more interested. "Why?"

"Well, I haven't really had one. But I think I might kind of want one." Sirius said quickly. James smiled. "Taylor?" Sirius smiled. James thought they were perfect for each other. "I knew you'd like her." Sirius frowned. "I liked how things were before." James laughed, "Just random snogging?" Sirius made a face, "No, friends, who occasionally snogged." "You can still be friends, maybe even closer." James answered. "But what if I mess things up?" Sirius said earnestly. "Oh you will." James said seriously. "But that's when you buy them stuff." he finished with a hint of sarcasm. 

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"Why are you here?" Remus asked a bit rudely. Lily was laying on Sirius' bed. She had come up shortly after Remus returned from practice. She walked in laid down and never said a word. Remus had been hoping she would go away, and the two sat in silence for about half an hour before he broke the silence. "I like being around you." Lily responded. "You're nice. You make me feel better." She continued a bit meekly. He smiled. She got up and moved to his bed. She laid down and Remus put his arm around her. 

"You're not still thinking of leaving, are you?" Remus asked. "I don't know. I told Max I was going to stay until Christmas at the least." She answered. "We need you here Lils." She looked into his eyes and smiled, "Thanks." "So, what did you walk in on last night?" Remus said, eager to change the subject. Lily laughed and buried her head in his chest. "How can he like her?" She said, suddenly serious. "Well how can you like Max?" He said in a mocking tone. "Max is a good guy. She's just plain horrid." Lily said scowling. "I mean that whole thing with R.A.W., it's terrible." She continued. "Yeah, well, I guess people can be afraid of things they don't understand." Remus said. "I just don't get it. I've been reading the papers and no one is opposing it. No one. Not even people who are werewolves." Lily thought out loud. "Well, then people would know who they are." He responded. "Then people should speak for them." Lily said, "not everyone can feel like Reese does." Lily had no clue how much Remus hoped that was true. 

A/N- Hey! I hope you liked this chapter! I'm probably going to be updating on Saturdays. But if I get a really strong response I'll update a lot sooner. School is really hectic right now, but I promise, the longest I'll go without updating is a week! 


	16. Follow your heart, but support it with y...

Disclaimer- If it was mine I'd be rich. But I'm not and it's not, so here goes.

"Should we wake him?" James asked Sirius in a hushed voice. "Let him sleep. He leaves tonight." Sirius answered as he looked at Remus. Although it happened every month, the boys could never believe Remus' sudden loss of energy. "We better go." James said as he reluctantly moved toward the door. They cast one final look at their sleeping friend before leaving. 

"So then I said, "You deserve to get attacked by one of those foul creatures!" and then she said that I'd "get mine" someday. Can you believe it?" Reese was recounting her latest attempt to get Lily to join R.A.W. James had grown used to droning her out and just nodded. "She's just horrid, you really should stay away from her." James didn't get a chance to decline her request. 

"What, can't your boyfriend think for himself? Or are you brainwashing him like you've done to the rest of society?" Lily had approached them from behind. "Watch it Evans." Reese said through clenched teeth. Lily ignored her. "Can I talk to you alone for a minute?" Lily asked James. "Anything you have to say to James you can say in front of me." Reese expected Lily to protest, but she did quite the opposite. "Have it your way." She smirked at James. "Potter, your girlfriend is a major bitch." Reese's jaw dropped. Lily continued, "I don't like her," she paused for emphasis, "no, wait, I hate her." By now the know the whole Gryffindor table was listening. "I hate what she's doing, to both you and everyone else. And since no one else is brave enough to take her on, I will." She now turned to address the entire table. "Anyone who is not involved with R.A.W. is invited to join my protest group. I won't let her, or any other member of her group, take the life of another innocent werewolf. If you're interested, see me later."

She turned to walk out of the room, but was stopped. "Miss Evans, Please come with me to my office." Dumbledore had approached her, and was now leading her away. Lily was quite nervous. She had never been in trouble with the headmaster before. "Please sir, I didn't mean to make a scene. I just got carried away. I'm sorry." Lily paced the room. Dumbledore watched her amusedly. "Miss Evans please sit down." Lily did as she was asked. "Now, I need to know something," Dumbledore said slowly, making Lily even more nervous. "Did you mean what you said in the Great Hall?" Lily was taken by surprise. "Um. Yes sir." She said awkwardly. "You want to help protect werewolves? Something society doesn't approve of?" Dumbledore continued his questioning. Lily was fighting with herself. What did Dumbledore want her to say? Was she in trouble?

She finally decided to be truthful. "Yes sir." She answered simply. "Please explain." Lily couldn't believe what he was asking of her. He was asking her to show her true feelings. Something she tried to hide most of the time. "Sir, I know that what she is doing is wrong. Her group is killing innocent werewolves. They are killing people who, with the exception of three days out of the month, are regular people. Her group is brainwashing people to think werewolves are a serious threat to their safety, which statistics prove isn't true. A werewolf is a normal person most of the time, they are only dangerous for about three days. They know when they will transform, and in 99% of the cases, have special places to do so. They don't just all of a sudden unleash their fury on the public. People are afraid of what they don't understand. And what R.A.W. is doing is manipulating that fear to fulfill personal grudges." Lily spoke quickly, afraid that if she stopped she wouldn't continue. She felt as if a weight had been taken off her shoulders. But once she stopped speaking she panicked. What if Dumbledore doesn't agree? Was he a member of R.A.W.? What if she had just called the most powerful wizard of all time wrong? Questions filled her head during the silence that followed her confessions. 

"My students never cease to amaze me." Lily looked up. Was what Dumbledore saying good or bad? "Miss Evans, you have taken a concept that has long puzzled some of the greatest minds of our time, and reduced it to the simple, beautiful truth. You are willing to stand up against people who feel just as strongly as you. People who have had more schooling, more experience, and you are calling them wrong. You are following your heart, and supporting it with your mind. You have something those people lack, something that makes it impossible for them to see the situation clearly. You have compassion. Those people are quick to dismiss things that they don't trust, and yes fear. You have managed to see the whole picture, and I am proud of you." Lily smiled as Dumbledore finished his speech.

"Thank you sir." Lily said amazed at what the headmaster had just said. "Miss Evans, I ask you again. Did you mean what you said in the Great Hall?" This time Lily was able to answer with more conviction than ever. "Yes, sir." "Then I would like to support you in your efforts." Lily couldn't believe what she was hearing. "May I join?" Lily was speechless. She searched her bag and handed him a piece of parchment. He signed his name. Lily couldn't believe it. Not only did Dumbledore agree with her, he would help her. "If you need anything," he said, smiling at the astonished look on Lily's face, "my door is always open." He finished. Lily managed to thank him as she got up to leave. She walked through the halls to her class in disbelief. She couldn't help but wonder what she had just gotten herself in to.

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"Are you just going to let her talk to me like that?" Reese was yelling at James as they headed toward Potions. "I'm your girlfriend. She's just some girl!" "I'm sorry. I'll do something next time." James answered. He couldn't get that mornings events off his mind. That was hardly the Lily he knew. Was she really going to go up against Reese and R.A.W.? And if so, could she actually win? What would Dumbledore think? How could he help Lily without Reese knowing? He had too many thoughts banging around in his head to go to class. "I'll see you later, hun." James gave Reese a quick kiss and ran off. 

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"That was a pretty cool, what Lily did." Sirius said as he forced conversation between him and Taylor as they walked to class. "Uh huh." Taylor answered. She wasn't paying much attention to Sirius. "What's with you?" Sirius asked. "I'm meeting someone." She answered plainly. "What about Potions?" He couldn't believe that she'd skip without him. "Oh, well." She said sarcastically. "T, I," he stopped, "I just thought you should know that I know what you want. And I guess, if it's what you really want, I'll be your boyfriend." Sirius had been expecting Taylor to smile and kiss him, or at least show some sort of emotion. "What?!" Taylor yelled. People in the halls stopped to look at them and Sirius' face went red. "How do you know what I want?" Sirius was speechless. "Ugh." Taylor growled as she ran off to meet her date. Sirius just stood there awkwardly. Eventually he walked off to class alone. 

"Today's potion will be quite complex. Take your time, read carefully. The instructions are on the board. Begin." Professor Erbaugh said stiffly. Sirius raised his hand. "Err- Professor. My partner is absent. May I join another group?" The teacher scanned the room. "Partner up with Reilly. Mr. Potter seems to be missing as well." Sirius muttered some foul words under his breath as he walked over to James' seat. 

"Where's James?" He asked as he slouched down. "I don't know. He ran off." Reese answered. "Look, Black, neither of us want to work together, so lets just do separate potions." She continued. "No problem here." 

After about 15 minutes of silence Reese grew bored. "Sirius, is James with Lily a lot?" She asked curiously. "You'd hate it if I answered yes. Wouldn't you?" He answered sarcastically. "She's a wretched girl. I don't want him around her." Her answer annoyed Sirius. "Your boyfriend will do what he wants." "So he is with her a lot?" She asked again. Sirius sighed, "No. Why do you hate her so much anyway?" She was quiet a moment. "Well, you saw what happened at breakfast. She wants to stop R.A.W. Which you still have to sign up for, by the way." Sirius smiled. "That won't be happening." "What do you mean?" She said sounding thoroughly aggravated. "I'll be joining Lily's group." Reese did not like hearing that. "I always knew you were a fool." Sirius didn't respond. "Hand me my pieces of gryl." "No." Sirius answered simply as he picked them up to put in his own potion. "Give them to me, they're mine!" She complained. "Are you saying they're Reese's pieces?" Sirius said before he burst out laughing. Reese didn't think it was funny. She spent the remainder of the class pouting.

"Remus, Remus, wake up." James sat in the boy's dormitory. Remus woke up. "Oh, hey James. What time is it?" "Um, half past nine." James answered. "Ugh. I've already missed one class." Remus groaned. James sat across from him. "Oh, you've missed more than that." "What's that mean?" Remus asked. "Reese and Lily got in this huge fight at breakfast!" Remus' jaw dropped. "No way!" "That's not all." James continued. "She announced that she's forming a protest group against R.A.W.!" Remus was speechless. "Dumbledore took her to his office right after, I wonder what he thinks? Remus?"

"Why would she do that?" Remus said quietly. "I don't know, mate. It's great though." James said smiling. "How is it great?" Remus asked glumly. "How can you ask that? You have an ally! If she can get enough people-" Remus cut him off. "Don't be naive James. She won't. She'll just get hurt. Why does she care about werewolves anyway?" Remus said moodily. "I don't know. She's just Lily. She's great. She's perfect. She's brilliant!" James was now bouncing around the room. "I don't want her to get hurt." Remus said. "I know. No one's saying she will. This is our chance. We can help fight it." James said optimistically. "James, I can't. No one can know what I am." Even this didn't daunt James. "Yes you can. You'll just be a marauder fighting for a cause. No different than Lily, or Sirius, or me." Remus finally smiled. "Do you really think she can pull it off?" James sat down. "If anyone can, it's her."

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"Cad, please tell me you'll quit R.A.W. and join my group?" Lily was trying to convince Cad while they walked to lunch. "Lil, I can't." "But Cad you know all my facts. You know they aren't nearly as dangerous as Reese is making them out to be." Cad stopped in her tracks. "Lily, don't tell me what I know. Maybe there are dangers you overlooked. Physical harm isn't the only way to hurt someone." Cad was frustrated. "What do you mean by that?" Lily answered. "Look. Maybe you're not right this time." Cad said softly before running off. "What if I am?" Lily yelled after her. 

Lily clumsily made her way to the Great Hall. She was so upset she was shaking. Cad was her best friend. If she wasn't willing to help her, who would be? Would Dumbledore change his mind once her saw her lack of support? "Lily?" Sirius had approached her. Lily was pulled out of her trance. "Oh Sirius, hey." "Are you okay?" He eyed her worriedly. "Um, yeah. I just got in a fight with Cad, that's all. What's up?" "I want to join your group." He said enthusiastically. "Really?" Lily was somewhat shocked. "Of course. I'm sure Peter, Remus, and James will too. Oh, and I talked to some Hufflepuffs who are interested as well." Sirius rambled. "That's great!" Lily said as she took out the parchment for Sirius to sign. Sirius' eyes widened when he saw Dumbledore's signature. 

"No way! You got Dumbledore?" Sirius asked. Lily smiled proudly. "Yeah. That's what he wanted to talk to me about this morning." Sirius signed his name and handed Lily the paper. "You're off to a good start." Lily smiled even wider. Her fears of having no support quickly vanished. "Thanks. Hey, have you seen Remus? He wasn't at Breakfast or in Potions." "Oh, he's not feeling well. He's probably in our dormitory." Sirius said as he continued into the Great Hall. Lily thanked him and turned toward the Gryffindor Tower. 

When she entered the room she was shocked at what she saw. Remus was asleep on his bed. He looked very weak. Not at all like the friend she had talked with the previous night. She knelt down beside him. "Remus? Remus are you ok?" She said quietly. He stirred and slowly opened his eyes. "Lily?" He said in a groggy, raspy voice. "Yeah, hun, how are you feeling?" She barely whispered. Remus tried to smile, "Oh, I've been better." His voice was rough. "Here," Lily quickly conjured up a glass of water, "drink this." She helped him sit up, and he drained the glass. "Thanks," he said, his voice a little better. "Have you been to the Hospital Wing?" She asked. "There's nothing they can do." He answered honestly. 

Lily climbed up on the bed with him. "Did you hear about the protest group I'm forming?" She asked trying to change the topic. "Yeah, that's great." He said slowly. "I've already gotten Dumbledore and Sirius to join." She continued. Remus managed to smile. "That's wonderful." "You know it's really not like me to do something like this. I'm scared." She spoke candidly. "Lil, you're going to do it. You'll be great." He answered. Lily talked about her plans for the group until Remus drifted to sleep. She laid her head on his chest and followed suit. Maybe there was a reason for her to stay at Hogwarts after all. 

A/N- Hey, I hope you liked this chapter. I'm trying to update as often as possible, but things are pretty crazy right now. Drivers Ed was just thrown into the mix with homework, crazy teachers, school in general, and a social life. So please update. It will give me something to look forward to! Well, that and the upcoming Good Charlotte concert! Thanks to everyone that reviews, and coming up~~ James/Lily scenes, some Reese torturing {I know you all have been looking forward to that!}, and more Sirius/Taylor. 


	17. What you've all been waiting for! Hopefu...

Disclaimer- You know what's not mine!

_Knock Knock Knock _ "What the...?" Lily woke up. It took her a moment to remember where she was. The room was completely dark; it was obviously late at night. She looked over at Remus. How long had they slept? _Knock Knock Knock_. Who the hell would be knocking on the door now? The voice she heard next made her panic. "Mister Lupin?" Madam Pomfrey's voice called through the darkness. It was against the rules for girls to be in the boys dormitory. What would they think if she got caught? "Mister Lupin?" Again the voice came. Remus still did not wake. Why did she want Remus? Slowly the door started to open. As Madam Pomfrey called to Remus again, Lily quickly jumped out of the bed. She was caught. There was no way out. 

Before she knew what was happening, someone grabbed her arm and pulled her toward them. A hand was over her mouth. She looked at the person occupying the bed she now laid in. Very seriously he shook his head. Lily's heart was racing, and she could feel her friend's doing the same. They watched as Madam Pomfrey carefully woke Remus. He was very weak, almost unable to walk. Slowly he made his way toward the door with his arm around the nurse. When the door was once again closed the room lit up. Lily sighed a breath of relief. James' hazel eyes were staring directly into hers. Lily was speechless. "James," Lily's voice was shaking, "what just happened? What's wrong with Remus?" Instead of answering her, James pulled her closer, and put his arm around her. "It's okay Lils, everything's going to be okay." Lily put her head on his shoulder. She couldn't help but marvel at how natural that felt. "He's going to be okay." Came James' reassuring voice. 

Both Lily and James looked up as Sirius opened the curtain. "Lily? Are you okay?" Sirius asked. Lily didn't know how to answer. She was scared, not just for herself, but for Remus. She felt that Sirius and James knew something they weren't telling her. Much to his dismay, Lily took her head off James' shoulder. "I really don't know." She practically whispered. Sirius joined them on the bed. No one knew quite what to say. "Didn't know you were so determined to get into bed with James." Sirius said trying to lighten the mood. He was unsuccessful. The only effect his words had was Lily pulling away from James and James shooting him a look to kill.

"Why were you in here?" James asked after several minutes of silence. Lily had been hoping she wouldn't have to answer this question. "I was with Remus." James raised his eyebrow. "Not like that." Lily continued. "I came here this afternoon. He looked really sick, so I talked to him, and eventually we fell asleep. The knocking woke me up." "It's a good thing you weren't caught." James' voice was stern. Lily felt as if she was getting a lecture from a disapproving parent, not one of Hogwart's biggest pranksters. "Right I'll remember that." Lily shot back sarcastically. "Lily," James' voice softened, "I just don't want anything to happen to you." Lily looked at the ground. "I know." She said quietly. "I'm going to bed." Sirius announced. "You should to, we don't need any more trouble." He continued jokingly to Lily. "Yeah, I suppose you're right." Lily said smiling. "Good night James, Good night Sirius." She headed toward the door but was stopped by James. "Hey, Lils, all of a sudden I'm not so tired. You want to go for a walk?" Lily smiled widely. "Sure." 

"Where to?" Lily asked as they exited the portrait hole. James looked at his map. Most of the school was asleep. He quickly noticed one spot that would be perfect to take her. He rolled up the map and smiled at Lily, "It's a surprise." They walked through the deserted corridors in silence. James had left his cloak in the dormitory and neither wanted to be caught. They approached a door and James quickly unlocked it. When the door was opened Lily could see a long stair case. They climbed for what seemed like forever, but the hike was worth it. James had taken Lily to the East tower. The stars littered the sky like diamonds in a sea of darkness. James took her by the hand and led her to the farthest wall. Below her she could see all of the Hogwarts grounds. Above her nothing but sky. She was beyond speechless, she couldn't even move on her own. James sat her down.

"Do you like it?" James asked apprehensively. Lily nodded. "James, how did you know this was here?" She asked. James smiled, "Me and Remus found it our second year." At the mention of Remus' name Lily grew sad. James sensed this. "Lil, he's okay. I promise." "But why'd she take him? How did she know he was-" She stopped and examined his face. He was frowning and wouldn't look her in the eye. When he finally did she was startled. Something was missing. James had beautiful eyes; but not tonight. Their shine was gone. They seemed to have aged far beyond his years. The expression he wore scared her. "James what's wrong?" She gasped. James did the best he could to smile, and answered her as honestly as he could. "Nothing, Lily, everything's going to be okay. You just have to trust me on this." Lily nodded and leaned back against the stone pillar. 

She stared at the stars, her shoes, the grounds, anything to avoid James' eyes. After a long silence James asked a serious question. "Hey, Lil, when did we become friends?" Lily laughed. She wanted to say something witty. Something like "Who said we are?" or "Maybe we always were." but she couldn't bring herself to answer him. Truthfully she had been wondering the same thing. Last year she had been so determined to hate him. And he had made it so easy. Between picking on Snape, breaking Cad's heart, and his determination to have her, Lily saw no reason for her to like him. But things were different now. James seemed older. He rarely picked on Snape. Most of his time was spent with Reese. 

"You've changed." She said quietly, almost to herself. "No I haven't," James said defensively. "Yes you have." Lily answered. James shot her a look, as if to say "prove it." "I mean, who were you last year?" Lily asked rhetorically. "You were James Potter, God's gift to women. You were James potter, Quidditch star." Lily's voice reeked with sarcasm. "James Potter, big bad James Potter. You thought you could have anything, and title, any trophy," she paused for a second, "any girl." James was amused by how well she thought she knew him.

"Yeah, well," James stopped to consider his words, "I'm still James Potter, God's gift to women, I can still take anyone on at Quidditch, I can still beat anyone in a duel." He looked Lily straight in the eyes. "Only one thing has changed." She didn't even have to ask him what. He looked to the ground and continued, "I know I can't have the girl." Lily smirked. "Wrong again James. You've got the girl." James quickly looked up. "You've got Reese, don't you?" He tried not to let the disappointment show on his face. For a moment he had thought she meant her. "Yeah, but she's not the girl." James responded. "I can't have you." Once again Lily couldn't take James' glare. She knew he was right. He couldn't have her; Max already did. Rather than tell him this bluntly she decided to be vague. "I'm no one's to be had."

"Ah, but see now you're mistaken." James mused. "You and Max seem awful close." "Yeah well so do you and Reese." Lily said defensively. What James said next took Lily by surprise. "I don't love her." He sounded certain. As if he had said the words many times. "I'm sorry James." Lily managed to say. "About what. I don't love Reese. That's nothing for you to be sorry about." He said almost harshly. Lily felt a tear roll down her cheek. James put his arm around her and she cried into his shoulder. "I'm so sorry." She continued to whisper. She sat up but James' arm remained around her. "I'm sorry for everything. For hating you then. For not hating you now. I'm sorry you don't love Reese. And I'm sorry that I love Max." James pulled her close. He too had begun to cry. "Lily, I need you. I need you more than you know. I need your friendship now more than ever. And if you don't love me that's okay. There's nothing to be sorry about." 

Lily didn't answer. She laid in his arms for what felt like hours. At about six in the morning James finally spoke. "Lily, look. It's the best part." James pointed to the east. The sun was just starting to rise. Lily watched speechlessly as specks of orange and yellow appeared over the horizon. It seemed to happen in a matter of seconds. The once dark sky was filled with light. As Lily felt the rays sweep over her she couldn't help but think that everything was perfect. The sun, James, everything. Lily looked over at James. It became clear to her that he had never taken his eyes off her. "Aren't you going to watch. It's so beautiful." She said excitedly. James just smiled. "Yeah it is." Lily felt her face go red. James leaned in and kissed her on the forehead. "C'mon Lil. We better get back." Lily nodded and let James help her up.

As they descended the stairs the harsh reality hit Lily. As soon as they opened the door everything went back to normal. James would be Reese's boyfriend, She would be Max's girlfriend. She could lay in Remus' arms forever and think nothing of it. She could never do that again with James. She stopped as they approached the stairs. "I don't want to." She said fearfully. James understood the situation fully. He gulped before answering, "We have to." Lily nodded while holding back tears. The two walked through the doors, each knowing they would have to go their separate ways. 

A/N- Sorry this chapter is so short. I hope you liked it anyway. Lily is finally starting to give into her feelings for James, yay! But don't worry, things are going to get more complicated. Please review and tell me what you think, the stronger the reviews the quicker I'll update! Coming up: Reese torture, Quidditch,. and a new couple! 


	18. A real Quidditch save

Disclaimer- If you gotten this far you know it's not mine.

"Hi. I'm Lily Evans." After her night spent with James, Lily threw herself into W.U.F. {Werewolf Understanding Foundation} more than ever. "You may have heard that I have founded a group in protest of R.A.W. Please don't walk away. If you only listen to my statistics I think you'll find...absolutely nothing." Lily groaned as yet another potential member walked away. She had a total of twenty members. Compared to Reese's hundreds that was nothing. She sat on the stairs, wondering if she even stood a chance 

"What's got you down?" Lily looked up. "Remus!" She jumped up and threw her arms around him. "I've missed you so much!" Remus was a bit taken aback. "I've missed you too, Lil." "How are feeling? James told me you had to be taken to St. Mungo's." Remus frowned. He hated that he made Lily worry. "Yeah, nothing serious. Now why are you so upset?" Remus brushed off the topic. Lily's spirits dropped remembering her lack of success. "My groups a failure." She said sadly. 

"Remus, C'mon." Sirius yelled as he ran past them. "You're supposed to be in the locker room!" Remus jumped up. "We'll talk about this later, okay?" He said sweetly. "Yeah. Good luck." "Thanks." He ran off to catch up with Sirius. The two boys slowed to a walk as they approached the pitch. Sirius went with Remus into the locker room. He wasn't on the team, but was always around anyway. 

"Alright team. We can do this. We've worked hard. Now c'mon. This is Slytherin. We haven't lost to them since I joined the team." The team scowled at James' conceited comment. "And it's up to all of us to keep it that way." He added as an afterthought. This game marked a first for James. He was actually nervous. If anything he was usually over confident. He swallowed his fears and led his team out of the locker room. Sirius wished him luck before heading to the commentators booth.

James smiled. How Sirius got that job he'd never know. Sirius was by far Gryffindors' biggest supporter, and wasn't above playing favorites. He had actually gotten fired after three matches. He had such a strong following, however, that he decided to do it on his own. So with a whispered "Sonorus" the official announcer was quickly forgotten. After two matches of Sirius' sarcastic comments, he got his job back. McGonagall figured she'd have some control over him if he was seated next to her. She didn't, but that didn't stop Sirius' from becoming the best announcer Hogwarts had seen. 

"Mount your brooms!" The referees shrill voice brought James out of his trance. Her whistle sounded and James shot into the air. He quickly circled over head, hoping to catch a glimpse of the snitch. "_And the match starts as James Potter gives us a look at his victory lap_." Sirius' voice boomed throughout the pitch. "_Gryffindor's got a great team this year, this game should be no sweat at all._" James smiled, Sirius was always able to give him confidence. "_And Slytherin has the quaffle_." James watched as Lucius Malfoy darted toward the goals. He saw Remus tense up on his broom. Malfoy was getting closer. He quickly shot to Remus' right. _"Block the git, Rem!" _Sirius shouted as the tension grew. Cad was having trouble keeping up with him. "_And he's-- What's a save by Remus Lupin!" _

James let out a sigh of relief. "_Cad Woods now has possession_." Cad was passing the Slytherin players with ease. "_Wow. This girl has talent, almost as much as a guy_." The crowd of girls booed at Sirius' sexist comment. Sirius smiled, "_C'mon girls. You know I'm just kidding_." The boos turned to cheers and Sirius continued with his commentating. _"Malfoy is coming up from behind. Watch out Cad!" _But it was too late. Malfoy had rammed into Cad. "_Why that no good son-of-a-" _Cad quickly regained composure, but Malfoy had taken the quaffle. He had no difficulty scoring. 

Remus made several more spectacular saves, and Gryffindor had managed to score several goals. "_After an hour of play Slytherin leads Gryffindor 50-30." _James was getting frantic. He had never let a game go this long. His players were getting tired. He knew he had to find the snitch soon. "_What the?" _James quickly turned his attention to what had Sirius so shocked. He couldn't believe what he saw. Two red heads were fighting in the stands. He abruptly turned in the direction of the fight. As he got closer he could make out who the two people were. Reese and Lily had resorted to violence. Reese appeared to be winning. What happened next made James' heart stop. Reese grabbed Lily by the arm and pushed her. Lily tripped. Time seemed to slow down as Lily lost her balance. 

James had never gone so fast. Lily was falling. He was almost there. He had to get her. "What if she hit the-?" No. He wouldn't let himself think like that. He had to get her. She was falling faster. 20ft, 30ft. James dove and grabbed her wrist. With more strength than he knew he had, he swung her onto his broom. She was unconscious. He held onto her with one arm and his broom with the other. He was losing control of the broom. The added weight, and the use of one hand, made it difficult to stop. Out of the corner of his eye he could see the Slytherin seeker dive. They had lost. He didn't care. He only wanted Lily to be okay. He came crashing to the ground with a deadening thud. He managed to land on his back, keeping Lily from hitting the ground. He could see people running over to them, but in a matter of seconds, he too passed out.

"James, James talk to me." James slowly opened his eyes. At first he was confused. Why was he in the infirmary? Suddenly it all came flooding back to him. "Lily!" He shot up quickly. "No, James, it's me." He looked over to see Reese standing at his side. "She's over there. James I've been so worried. What did you think you were doing?" This comment made James angry. "What was I doing?" His voice was getting stronger. "What were you doing? Fighting in the stands, pushing Lily off? What if she had gotten hurt?" Reese stepped back. "Oh, poor Lily. What about me, huh? She came at me. I was just defending myself." James found that hard to believe. 

"Ah. Mister Potter. You're finally up." Madam Pomfrey had entered the room. Reese just shook her head and ran out of the room. "Madam, where's Lily? Is she okay?" "She's fine Mister Potter. Calm down." She grabbed a bottle of some foul looking liquid and poured some for James. "Drink this. It will help with the pain." James took a sip and grimaced. "Do we have to go through this every time?" Madam Pomfrey said amusedly. James shook his head and swallowed the remainder of the concoction. For the first time he noticed a figure in the corner. She was still asleep but James could see her fiery red hair poking out of the covers. 

"How you doing?" James turned to see Sirius, Cad, Remus, Peter, and Taylor enter the room. "I've had worse." James said truthfully. {In his second year he got badly hurt during a prank-gone-wrong.} "That was a really great thing you did, James." Taylor spoke for the first time. "It was nothing." James answered modestly. "That's not the James we know and love." Cad said jokingly. James was surprised Cad had come. With the exception of classes, she was never with Remus. "What's that supposed to mean?" James asked seriously. 

"Aw. C'mon." Remus piped in. "You being modest?" Remus asked rhetorically. James took offense. "I'm acting no different than I always have." "Sure you are mate." Sirius said. "Give me one example!" James couldn't believe what they were saying. He hadn't changed. "Ok." Cad grinned a smile of triumph. "Do you remember what you told me when we broke up?" The conversation escaped James' mind. "Remind me." Cad made a face before doing a very dead-on James impression. "Cad, babe. You know I love you. I don't want you to be too heart broken by this. I know dating me had been really great for you, I had some good times too. But we just can't see each other anymore. Please don't cry. It'll be okay." James frowned at the impression of himself, but couldn't help but recognize the words.

"Okay! Well that's only one!" James was not going down without a fight. "James face it. You can be pretty arrogant." "Oh Please!" Taylor said sarcastically. It was Sirius' turn to take offense. "What's your problem?" "You're far more conceited than James." Taylor said. She then fled the room. Cad excused herself to go see if Lily was up. Peter and Remus left to find Blair. "Dang, what's up with that?" Sirius said scornfully. "Yeah." James said remembering something. "I thought you were going to ask her out?" 

"I didn't need to. It was so obvious she wanted me to. I mean it didn't have to be formal." Sirius actually believed what he just said was true. James, far more sensible, couldn't believe what he was hearing. "What did you say?" Sirius looked put out by the fact that they were still talking about his failure. "I said that I knew what she wanted, and that if she really wanted, I'd be her boyfriend." Sirius' eyes slowly widened. "Aw. Shit." He said, suddenly realizing his mistake. "Just go." James said laughing. Sirius jumped up and ran out of the room. 

James was laughing to himself when he saw a little red head looking over at him. "Lily are you okay?" he said seriously. "Huh. Thanks to you." She said sarcastically. James was surprised. "What's that supposed to mean?" "Well, I guess I can't blame you. I know you had to be the big star." "Ok. What?" James was thoroughly confused. "James, why didn't you let me fall?" James could tell she was crying. "I mean why'd you have to go and make everything so complicated?" James knew what she meant, but resented it. 

"Right. Maybe it is a bit stupid of me to be expecting a thank you or something. I mean I just saved your life." "I don't need you to save me." "Fine! Next time you fall don't worry. I'll make sure not to notice." He could hear Lily crying in the corner. "You lost. For the first time ever, you lost." Lily said quietly. Her words effected James in a way Lily wasn't expecting. "Yeah. Wasn't expecting a thank you for that either." He said harshly. "Good!" Lily shot back lamely. "And what were you doing fighting with Reese anyway?" He said, his voice growing crueler with each word. "You wouldn't care." Lily was angry. "You're right. I wouldn't." James concluded the argument.

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Sirius rushed through the corridors. Finally he saw Taylor. He followed her at a distance until he could his breath. Suddenly, Taylor felt two arms go around her shoulders. She turned around and looked Sirius straight in the eye. She knew he had gotten it. She knew him. "What took you so long?" She said smiling. "Yeah. I'm a moron." Sirius said simply. He leaned forward and kissed her. "Will you be my girlfriend?" Sirius whispered into her ear as they pulled apart. "I thought you already knew the answer?" She said mockingly before adding, "You were right, by the way." Sirius grinned and kissed her again. They started walking toward the common room, hand in hand. "I've missed you, babe." Taylor turned to look into Sirius' eyes as he said this. She smiled. "Well, that was the point."

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Remus entered the common room to see it nearly deserted. In the far corner of the room he could see Cad sprawled out with a book. He took a deep breath and approached her. "Um, Cad?" She looked up, shocked to see him. "I think we need to talk."

A/n- He He. I know I know cruel cliff hanger. But trust me it will be worth the wait! Oh, I decided to have James play seeker. Thanks to everyone who helped me pick. In the end it ended up a tie! So for the purpose of this story we'll say that Harry followed in dear old dad's footsteps. Well, anyway, I should be able to update more quickly now, I finally got rid of my dial up connection! Hope you liked this chapter! The more, stronger reviews I get the sooner the next chapter will be up, currently titled "I could never do that." 


	19. I could never do that

Remus entered the common room to see it nearly deserted. In the far corner of the room he could see Cad sprawled out with a book. He took a deep breath and approached her. "Um, Cad?" She looked up, shocked to see him. "I think we need to talk." 

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Disclaimer- You know what's not mine

"Remus, I don't-" Cad started before Remus cut her off. "Please Cad. Just hear me out." Remus said in his traditional soft voice. Cad nodded. "I totally understand why we broke up. You couldn't love me. That's okay. I just want you to know that I loved you. I wish I could make you love me. Make you see that I'm still the same person. But I could never do that. I can't change you. I don't want to." Remus said everything he'd been saying to himself ever since they had broken up. Maybe finally saying it to her was the closure he needed. He just wanted her to move on and be happy; he had long since given up on his own happiness. 

"Remus, I don't know what you want from me." Cad answered on the verge of tears. "But you're right. I didn't know you. And maybe you are the same person. I just don't know. I don't know anything anymore." A tear fell down her cheek. "I've got to go, Rem." She stood up and hurried to the girls dormitory. The full impact of her words came crashing down on Remus. "She had to go." Remus whispered to himself. He didn't know what he was expecting, but he wasn't surprised to see her run again. She would always have to go. He knew they could never have what they had; you can't cross bridges that you've burned.

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"That was pretty traumatic, what happened at the match." Taylor said as she and Sirius walked around the castle. "Yeah. I know. I can't believe Reese attacked Lily." Sirius answered. Taylor stopped and turned to face Sirius. "She didn't. Lily attacked Reese." Sirius couldn't believe what he was hearing. Lily had been acting really strangely lately. The normally passive Lily that they all loved was no where to be seen. "What do you mean?" "I mean Lily got pissed off and slapped her." Sirius knew Taylor wouldn't joke about something so serious. "Well, what happened?" Taylor took a deep breath before starting her story. 

"Well, me and Lily were watching the match. But we couldn't help but notice that Reese was sitting a little too close to some seventh year. I didn't pay much attention to it, but it really bugged Lily. She kept saying things like "how could she do that to James?" and stuff like that." Taylor paused to catch her breath. "So, right before the fight Reese actually started kissing that guy. Oh, Lily was pissed. She got up, and before I could stop her, marched right over to Reese and slapped her! I was so shocked. Well, then Reese flipped out and they started fighting." 

It took Sirius a moment to take in the full impact of what Taylor had just said. "Reese is cheating on James?" Taylor nodded her head solemnly. "Oh that's just great." Sirius said sarcastically. "Do you mind heading back to the common room on your own? I've got to go talk to James." "Yeah it's okay." Taylor turned to head toward the common room, but Sirius put his hand on her shoulder. "I'm so glad you're my girlfriend." He whispered before leaning in to kiss her. When they pulled apart Taylor was smiling. "Just imagine how great it is for me."

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Lily lay in her bed in the infirmary, tossing and turning. She had too much on her mind to sleep. How could James risk himself for her? Quidditch was always so important to him. How could he pick her over beating Slytherin? Lily didn't want to know the answer. She knew it would only prove what she had known for a long time true. James Potter had changed. She used to hate him. But why? Well, that was easy. He had always been so arrogant and shallow. Thought he was too good, and could have anything he wanted. But now- now he was different. He seemed deeper. Like something was actually on his mind besides girls and Quidditch. He was sweet and funny. And he had actually picked Lily over winning. He had grown up. 

Lily's mind thought over the night they spent together on the east tower. _"I can't have you." _ Maybe he was wrong. "Maybe he can have me." Lily whispered to herself. No that's crazy. She pushed the thought out of her mind. This was James Potter. She couldn't love James Potter. She loved Max. Right? I mean why wouldn't she love Max? He was great. He was kind and funny, and always knew just what to say to make her smile. "But he's not James." "Well, I certainly hope not. I really like being me." Lily jumped. "Remus?" She whispered. She felt weight being added to the bed. 

"What, are you the only person allowed to hop into bed with someone?" Remus laid his head on Lily's pillow. "No." Lily smiled and laid back down. "Are you okay? Did Reese hurt you?" Remus' soothing voice calmed Lily down. "Yeah. I guess. I mean, thanks to James." Remus picked up the resentment in Lily's tone. "And that's good....Right?" "Why'd he have to go and be so great?" Lily was on the brink of tears. Remus was shocked by her confession. "Lily, James has always been great." "No, he wasn't. He was-" Remus never found out what James was, because at that moment Sirius burst into the room. 

"James! James! Wake up!" James sat up quickly. "What's wrong?" Lily and Remus stayed still, watching the scene before them. Sirius was pacing around James, obviously enraged. "Sirius, what's wrong?" James repeated his question. "Reese, Reese is wrong. Everything's wrong." James sighed. "Care to be a little more specific?" "Do you know what happened this afternoon?" "Reese attacked Lily in the stands. Probably because of the whole R.A.W. thing." James answered, getting annoyed. "Not quite." Sirius said, again choosing to be vague. 

"What happened?" James asked, finally sounding interested. "Lily, sweet, innocent, Lily, went after Reese." Remus' jaw dropped. He looked over at Lily who appeared as if she was going to be sick. "What? Why?" James was as astounded as Remus. "Taylor and Lily caught Reese snogging with some guy." Sirius' voice was apologetic, he hated being the one to tell James. James ran his hands through his hair. "Ugg. As if this wasn't complicated enough." Sirius finally sat down but was still having difficulty sitting still. 

"But Lily? Why did Lily go after her?" James continued. Sirius shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. Taylor said she just sort of snapped." James couldn't believe what he was hearing. Why would Lily care? "Oh, what am I going to, Padfoot?" "I don't know. She already thinks your," Sirius chose his words carefully, "lack of physical contact is weird enough, won't she get suspicious if you ignore the fact that she cheated on you?" "I guess so, but I can't break up with her." Lily couldn't believe what she was hearing. Why couldn't he break up with her? He had already told Lily he didn't love her, what reasons did he have to stay with her? "Reese is going to go after werewolves, if it's possible, even more now that she has opposition." James continued. Lily felt Remus shift uncomfortably next to her. What did R.A.W. have to do with anything? 

"And what about Cad? She could go to Reese at any moment!" Sirius said as he resumed pacing. Remus wanted to jump up, to keep them from saying anything else. But what would Lily think? She would grow even more suspicious. No, he had to take his chances, hope that his friends would leave him out of it. "We need to protect Remus, but it's becoming almost impossible." James said. Remus looked at Lily. She looked confused, scared even. "But what about Lily?" Sirius asked. Lily couldn't believe that they had once again brought her into the conversation. "She must know. Have some sort of idea at least. Her and Remus have gotten pretty close. And that night, she was terrified. She's smart, she must have connected the dots by now." 

Lily looked at Remus pleading. What didn't she know? Something was terribly wrong, but why couldn't she see it? Remus kept his face blank, determined not to give her the answers she searched for. "I don't know. She hasn't done anything to let us know she knows. But then how does she know that we know? There's only one way to be sure, and we can't afford that. It's Remus' choice, and I don't know how eager he'll be considering what happened when Cad found out." James seemed unsure of his own words. Was it possible that Lily already knew? 

Lily grasped on to Remus. What was so terrible that he couldn't tell her? Remus knew that soon Lily would figure it out, and he silently begged his friends to shut up. "But Lily's different from Cad. She's determined to fight Reese, I'd imagine she's one of the few people he could trust." Slowly the wheels in Lily's head started turning. It was so obvious. Her grip on Remus tightened. It couldn't be true. This was Remus, one of her best friends. He would have told her. Why didn't he trust her? And Cad, why was she so shaken up? Was that why they broke up? "No, stop thinking like that. Everything's okay. Nothing is wrong with Remus, I'm just jumping to conclusions." Lily forced herself to deny what was slowly coming to realization. 

"I guess you're right." James said, answering Sirius. "But it's still not up to us." Sirius sat back down. "What do we do? Remus is already upset that we're trying to protect him." Sirius voice had changed. No longer did it reek of anger and hated. He was calm, saddened by whatever was effecting Remus. "You know it's not fair. It shouldn't have happened. Not to him." Sirius continued in a soft voice. "Yeah, I know. Watching him every month, it hurts. He's so strong, yet so weak." James too had calmed down. "What was that?" Sirius jumped up. Lily had sat up quickly. She understood what they meant. It was true. Remus was a werewolf. Sirius walked over to were Lily was. "Lily?" Remus sat up and Lily allowed him to embrace her in a hug. "Lily I'm so sorry." He whispered into her ear. "Remus?" Sirius' voice was once again panicked. All at once he room lit up to reveal Lily and Remus. 

Lily was crying on Remus' shoulder. "Lily? Remus?" James' voice was shaking. "Lil, Lil? It's okay." Remus continued whispering to Lily. She was clinging to him for dear life. "Lily, I know this is, um, shocking, to say the least, but," Remus was stumbling with his words and he too had tears running down his cheeks. "You know, I mean, I'm still me, right?" He could feel Lily shaking, he wasn't sure what to expect her to say. All he could hope for was that her reaction would be better than Cad's.

"They'll never take you. Never." She whispered almost inaudibly. A new wave of tears plagued Remus. How could he tell her that that was a possibility? It was something none of them had accepted, but definitely a possibility. Remus was speechless. Sirius and James were standing beside them awkwardly. Neither could believe what had just happened. In one moment of carelessness they could have caused even more grief for Remus. 

"Rem? Lil? Are you guys alright?" Sirius asked lamely. Neither answered. After several minutes of silence Lily and Remus finally pulled apart. Lily was no longer crying, she was still trembling. Several tears still fell down Remus cheeks, but he too stopped. "Lily I'm so sorry." He said softly. "Rem, you have nothing to be sorry for." Lily fell back down onto her pillow. "We can't let them take you. We just can't." She stuttered. James stepped forward. "Lil, we're not going to let that happen." Lily grew angry at hearing James' words. She sat up quickly, obviously enraged. 

"And you! How could you be with that- that thing, with everything she's doing!" James sat down. He took her hands in his and very solemnly said, "Lil, I'm with her because of everything she's doing." He could tell Lily didn't understand so he elaborated. "Look. If she finds out Remus is a werewolf," James stumbled over the bluntness of his words, "Who do you think she'd tell first? Her boyfriend. I'm trying to protect him, Lil. I've told you before that I don't love her, and I don't. I never could." Lily didn't answer. She let go of his hands and embraced him in a hug. 

"And, Lil, there's more." Sirius quickly gave him a look. James turned to Sirius, "She knows this much. She might as well know it all." Sirius nodded and James once again turned his attention to Lily. "You see, Remus got bit when he was young, just a child. It was really only because of Dumbledore that he was even allowed to come to Hogwarts. Well, anyways, eventually, me, Sirius, and Peter figured out the truth behind all of Remus' excuses for where he went every month. We knew we had to help him. Turn the negative into a positive. So we became animagus. You see, he couldn't harm us when we were in animal form. We had to work really hard to accomplish it, and couldn't correctly transform until the beginning of last year. And ever since then we would go out with him during the full moon. Roam the grounds, have our own sort of adventures."

Lily was shocked. "So you can all turn into an animal?" She managed to spill out her question. They all nodded. Lily was even more shocked when James stepped back and easily transformed into a stag. He was marvelous. She timidly reached out her hand to touch the glimmering coat. James encouraged her by prodding her with his nose. He then turned back. "That's brilliant." She said, still smiling. She turned toward Sirius, "And what animal are you?" Sirius, never one to miss a chance to show off, quickly transformed. The great black dog jumped onto the bed, nearly knocking Remus off. He pounced on Lily and started licking her face. Lily giggled wildly. Sirius hopped off and changed back.

When Lily had stopped laughing the mood again turned serious. "But we haven't been able to go out this year." Sirius said as he stared at the ground. It wasn't really a statement, but a question. He wasn't commenting on a truth but really saying, "What are we going to do next?" And none of them knew. What do you do when every option is as grim as the next? They sat in silence for several minutes. Lily turned over every option in her head. She hated to admit it, but only one choice was reasonable. "You have to stay with Reese." Lily said breaking the silence. James faked a weak smile, "I know." His voice was strained. Slowly in the distance they heard footsteps approaching. They quickly tried to move but were too late.

"Never, in all my days! Patients out of bed at this hour! With visitors none the less! We'll have to call for Professor Dumbledore!" The four students groaned. As if the day couldn't have been anymore stressful, they were now likely to have a years worth of detentions. Remus, Sirius, and James were used to being in trouble, but Lily was quite nervous. She looked to each of her friends in turn, and somehow their supportive stares calmed her down. As soon as Madam Pomfrey had left the room. The boys started giving Lily hushed directions. "Just let us talk!" "We got this covered Lil!" "Don't worry babe, we'll take the blame." Lily smiled, not because they were so worried, but because James had called her babe. "Don't think like that." Lily told herself.

"Mr. Potter, Lupin, Black, what have you done to this poor girl?" The three boys laughed at the headmasters comment. "Madam Pomfrey says you were wreaking havoc on the infirmary." Lily looked around at the deserted room. "We were just talking, professor, honest." Even Remus couldn't stifle a laugh when he heard Sirius say "honest." "That may be true, but two of you are out of bed." The professors tone was mocking. He had a special connection with the boys, and really needed a reason to punish them. "Detention professor?" James said in a haughty, business like tone. The headmaster chuckled to himself silently. "No, I daresay you four have been through enough tonight." He shot a knowing glance to Remus and then to Lily. "Perhaps it would be best if all of you return to your dormitories." All four nodded and headed towards the door. Remus put his arm around Lily to help her walk, the effects of the medication had her a little off balance. Lily kept glancing at James, and couldn't help but notice when their eyes met. They both quickly looked away. Things should have been better now, but if possible they felt even further away from each other.

A/N- I hope you like it! It took me a while to write, so hopefully it's worth it. Please review! The more reviews I get, the more motivated I'll be, and the quicker I can update! {Did you follow that, cuz personally I'm a bit lost! lol.} Hugs and hamsters {don't ask} to all my reviewers! Coming up: Drama, Angst, and a new plan 


	20. emotionless

Disclaimer- If I owned it I'd be rich, but I'm not and so I don't. Let's eat cake!

It was late at night, 3 am at least. Lily sat in the far corner of the common room. She had tried to sleep but her mind was racing. She was alone, completely and utterly alone. Had there been others in the room they would have heard the frenzied scratching of a quill on parchment. Idea after idea was racing through Lily's mind, each one worse than that last. She scratched out her latest idea and threw the parchment across the room. Never before had she been faced with such a problem, something she wasn't sure she could solve. Her new parchment was quickly filled and discarded again. She brushed her hair aside to reveal tears falling down her cheeks. 

"I need to fix this." She screamed through gritted teeth. Everything had been so simple. She had always had a passion for her protest group, but now she couldn't afford to fail. Everything had to be perfect. Only one thought was racing through her mind now. "I must protect Remus." She would never let them take him. Never. She jumped up. She just couldn't sit still. The energy was rushing through her. She couldn't go to bed. Reese was there. There was no way she could share a room with that, that thing. She paced the room, the tears now ran steadily down her cheeks. 

Lily collapsed onto an armchair. She cried for what seemed like hours. She slowly fell into an uneasy sleep. She had barely begun to dream before she was ripped back out of her sleep. At first she was confused. She touched her face, it was still wet with tears. She pulled herself off the chair. She still refused to enter the room where Reese slept. She slowly climbed up the stairs to the boys' dormitory. She quietly opened the door and crept over to Remus' bed. Careful not to wake him, she parted his bed hangings and climbed into bed with him. He half woke up and made room for her. With his arms around her Lily finally felt calm. He was so strong and soothing, she couldn't ever picture the world without him.

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James walked around the castle. He couldn't bring himself to go to bed; too much had happened. He found his feet taking him to a place he knew too well. He quickly climbed the stairs. As James opened the door to the east tower he felt the cool night air against his face. It did its part to wake him up. He felt a surge of energy rush through him. He breathed in the cool air, savoring every second, trying to calm down. The tower was usually the place he went to when he needed to relax, clear his head. Tonight, however, the place had an opposite effect. 

His eyes darted over to the wall, and memories came flooding back. It was as if he was watching a movie. He saw him lead Lily to his special place, the look on her face as she stared at the stars. He saw himself never take his eyes off her. They sat so close, yet too far apart. He wanted to scream as Lily started to cry. Nothing was worse than seeing her in pain. He wished he could take all that away, wished it was him and not her. He really did need her. But he had Reese. "And that should be enough." He said harshly, sarcastically. Everything Lily did seemed perfect. Reese, well, Reese was Reese. He could never love her. God, and she was cheating on him. "I can't do this." He said quietly as he sat against the same wall he and Lily once occupied. The tears flowed freely down his cheeks. He couldn't do it anymore. Everything was wrong. Why try? Nothing could ever be perfect. Not the world, not Reese, not himself. The only thing that was he couldn't have. So why try?

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A/N- I know this is pathetically short. I'll try and update tomorrow to make up for it. I really wanted this chapter to just focus on Lily and James though. I hope you liked it, please review. Oh, and I'm sorry it's taken so long for me to update, I was grounded {i.e.- no computer.} Oh, {again} Feel better Jackie, I finally updated!


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